A month after exiting an ambitious project to help build one of India's first chip factories, Taiwan's Foxconn says it remains bullish about the world's most populous nation and is planning "billions" of dollars in investments there, as multinationals seek to diversify their supply chains beyond China.
Foxconn's India operations account for about $10 billion — or just under 5% — of the company's annual turnover, which stood at $6.627 trillion new Taiwan dollars ($207 billion) last year, Chairman Young Liu told a Monday earnings call.
"There is a positive energy for this market," he said in response to a question from CNN. "From the perspective of India's potential market size and if we can fully implement our plans there, I think several billion dollars in investment is only a beginning."
Liu said he saw opportunities to expand Foxconn's business producing key components for consumer electronics and also in electric vehicles (EVs), which is a major growth area for the company.
Foxconn, best known for making Apple's iPhones, has more than 30 factories in India, including 20 dormitories that house tens of thousands of workers. It began its operations there in 2006.
In July, the company pulled out of a planned $19.4 billion chipmaking joint venture in the country with Vedanta, an Indian metals and energy conglomerate. It was seen as a blow to the New Delhi government's plans to turn the country into a tech manufacturing powerhouse.
But shortly after, Foxconn said it was still committed to investing in Indian chipmaking, saying it will apply for a government program that subsidizes the cost of setting up semiconductor or electronic display production facilities.
