In a major push for the ‘Make in Maharashtra’ initiative, Taiwanese electronic contract manufacturer Foxconn has committed to invest $5 billion (over Rs.31,500 crore) in Maharashtra to set up large scale research & development (R&D) and manufacturing facilities for its global requirement. This investment will spread over three years.
On Saturday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., which operates under the trade name Foxconn, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Maharashtra government, which has agreed to allot 1,500 acres of land for this purpose. The MoU was signed between Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Foxconn Chairman Terry Guo, who has been in Mumbai for the last two days.
The electronic item manufacturing facilities will be located somewhere near Mumbai or Pune, and will provide employment for 50,000 people, Mr. Fadnavis told reporters here after the signing ceremony.
The agreement covers manufacturing of TFT screens and semiconductors. It is still not clear whether Foxconn would manufacture mobile phone at the proposed facilities. Foxconn is one the world’s biggest manufacturers of cell phone and supplies phones to Apple, BlackBerry, Xiaomi, to name a few.
Earlier this week, Mr. Guo, who had announced plans to invest $2 billion in 10 years in India, said he had been in discussions with Maharashtra officials for over two months.
Mr Guo said: “We sat seven times. I appreciate the efforts of Maharashtra government and the wonderful team. The Chief Minister showed amazing leadership. I am confident that if Maharashtra changes, then it is bound to change India.”
Mr. Fadnavis said he had visited Foxconn officials two months back during his trip to China and had initiated discussions for the proposed investment. He said since India’s electronic imports were expected to surpass crude imports by 2030 such investment would help a lot.
Foxconn is looking for local partners in Maharashtra to carry out business, company officials said. Discussions were underway, they added.
For investment in Gujarat, the company is talking with the Adani Group but no final announcement has been made.
Earlier this week, Foxconn officials had visited Adani group’s facility at Mundra.
