Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) has spent an additional US$350 million on a subsidiary in India that industry sources believe is soon to begin manufacturing Apple Inc’s iPhone 13.
Hon Hai, known internationally as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), said in a statement on Friday that it has invested US$350 million in Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Private Ltd as part of its long-term development in the country.
The investment — part of Hon Hai’s expansion of its plant in Chennai in southeast India — would be used to set up a new production line exclusively for the assembly of the iPhone 13 series, industry sources said.
Photo: Reuters
Media reports said that Apple has started to produce iPhone 13 models on a trial basis from Hon Hai’s factory in Chennai, with commercial production set to begin in February.
Hon Hai had manufactured iPhone XR, 11 and 12 models in Tamil Nadu, southern India, the reports said.
Hon Hai, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, has become Apple’s most important iPhone assembler. Apple accounts for about 40 percent of the Taiwanese company’s total sales.
The company is to restart production at the Chennai factory after its temporary workers, mostly women, staged a protest on Dec. 18 over conditions in their living quarters and food quality, the Tamil Nadu Government said in a statement on Saturday.
The company has agreed to all demands made by the employees, the government added.
Hon Hai promised to improve the temporary employees’ working and living conditions by expanding their living areas, upgrading bathing facilities and providing drinking water, among other improvements, it said.
Separately, Hon Hai’s Hong Kong-listed subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd (富智康) is planning a spinoff of its unit in India, Bharat FIH Ltd, and has set its sights on listing the Indian company’s shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.
Hon Hai, which owns a 63.43 percent stake in Bharat FIH, said that the Indian unit submitted documents pertaining to a listing to the two exchanges on Wednesday.
The spinoff of the Indian unit would be completed in 2023, Hon Hai said.
Bharat FIH, which is the largest contract electronics maker in India, operates three production sites in southern India and produces a range of goods, such as cellphones, machinery, electric vehicles, TVs, handheld devices and Internet connectivity gadgets, Hon Hai said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is
RSS