Taiwanese iPhone maker Foxconn Technology is examining the possibility of setting up a manufacturing facility in Hyderabad.
Foxconn Group president Calvin Chin and FIH Mobile Ltd chairman Vincent Whtong met Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao here on Thursday.
They said the conditions in the state were favourable for setting up industrial units and lauded Telangana State Industrial Project Approval And Self Certification System (TS-AiPASS), said a statement from the chief minister’s office.
Rao invited them to invest in the state and come out with specific plans. He briefed them about the governmenta’s plans to set up a mobile manufacturing hub and told them that many mobile phone companies have come forward to establish their units.
The chief minister said suitable land would be allotted for the hub, which will have all infrastructure facilities. He said the hub would provide two lakh jobs.
Earlier, Information Technology Minister K. Tarakarama Rao met the delegation from Foxconn and made a detailed presentation on the investment opportunities in the state.
The visit by the delegation from Taiwan-based tech giant came a few days after Tarakarama Rao visited that country to invite investments.
Chin’s visit comes amid reports that the company is scouting for locations to set up 10-12 manufacturing facilities and data centres in India, IANS reported.
Foxconn is the world’s largest contract maker of electronic goods.
According to a report in Reuters, India could help Foxconn mitigate accelerating wage inflation in China, where it makes the majority of Apple iPhones, and base production sites closer to markets where its key clients want to grow.
Lower production costs could help Foxconn keep hold of Apple orders amid intensifying competition with manufacturing rivals such as Quanta Computer.
Apple’s iPhone 6 with 16 GB sells for around Rs 44,000 ($687.82) in India, versus Samsung’s Galaxy S6 with 32 GB which sells for around Rs 40,000 ($625.29).
Apple has 10 percent market share in India, trailing Samsung and local manufacturers such as Micromax.
A return of Foxconn — which was forced to shut up shop in India last year after client Nokia closed — would be a major victory for India.
There will be 650 million smartphones in India, while the number of tablets will rise 9 percent to 18.7 million by 2019.
