A Foxconn subsidiary is reportedly discussing investing in India, as an increasing number of smartphone suppliers are clustering in southern parts of the country.
The Economic Times quoted sources saying that Rayprus, a Foxconn Group subsidiary engaged in the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of camera modules, is talking with Foxconn about setting up a manufacturing facility near Foxconn park near the airport in Bengaluru. Sources said the companies did not disclose detailed information like the size of the investment, but the talks progressed smoothly.
In May 2023, Foxconn said in the filing that its subsidiary Foxconn Hong Hai Technology India Mega Development acquired a 300-acre land in the Information Technology Investment Region in Devanhahalli Taluk, Bengaluru, with a price of INR3 billion. Foxconn CEO Young Liu was recently honored with the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian awards in trade and industry, thanks to his contribution to India's trade and industrial ecosystem development. The rumor also came after iPhone cover glass supplier Corning set up a manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu.
As Apple expands its supplier base in India, data from the Ministry of Commerce of India shows that India's smartphone exports to the US surged to US$3.53 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2024 (April 2023 to March 2024), making India the third-biggest smartphone exporter to the US, reports the Economic Times.
Amid the investments and diversification from global smartphone manufacturers in India, smartphone and components manufacturers are clustering in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh and the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, two neighboring states connecting with an industrial corridor.
The mode, where various smartphone parts makers gather in one area, recalls the Nokia model. In the early 2000s, Nokia phone suppliers built their factories in the Nokia Special Economic Zone in Tamil Nadu.
