Foxconn is betting it big in India’s semiconductor future

According to a senior official, Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group (Hon Hai) is in talks with the Indian government about establishing a semiconductor plant on its own, without any government incentives.…

By Nivedita Bangari

March 9, 2023

2 min read

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According to a senior official, Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group (Hon Hai) is in talks with the Indian government about establishing a semiconductor plant on its own, without any government incentives. A high-powered company team led by chairman Young Liu has just returned from a contentious week in India.

The Taiwan giant has made inroads into EVs and semiconductors in recent years, including the formation of MIH, the acquisition of Macronix International, and the appointment of chip veteran Chiang Shang-yi as Foxconn’s chief strategy officer for semiconductors. Foxconn intends to establish India as the next manufacturing base for mobile phones, semiconductors, and electric vehicles.

The company has partnered with Vedanta on a wafer fab project in Gujarat, which is expected to be approved by the Indian government, and Liu previously stated that Foxconn planned to establish an EV production plant in India in 2021. According to UDN, Jun Seki, Foxconn’s chief strategy officer for EVs, accompanied Liu to India.

Following Foxconn Chairman Young Liu’s visit to India, the company reaffirmed its commitment to Indian investments, which could include new factories and a foray into new areas such as semiconductors and EVs, and boost India’s role in global electronics manufacturing

Liu’s visit to India sparked reports and rumours about the Taiwan giant’s new plant in Telangana, a potential US$700 million plant in Karnataka dubbed ‘Project Elephant,’ and the expansion of the Tamil Nadu plant to increase iPhone production capacity in the state from 6 million to 20 million units in two years.

Nonetheless, Foxconn stated over the weekend that there was no binding agreement for new investments in India, raising questions about whether Foxconn would build more plants in India to diversify away from its reliance on China. The separate letters demonstrated Foxconn’s strong interest, though no final decision has been made.

According to The Economic Times, Liu was impressed with the cargo handling efficiency at Bengaluru airport because the world’s largest electronics manufacturer relies on air freight for a variety of products.

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