Foxconn Eyes $1bn Investment in Tamil Nadu for Display Module Assembly Unit

Foxconn is reportedly planning to invest nearly $1bn in establishing a display module assembly unit in Tamil Nadu. This would mark the Taiwanese contract manufacturer's first facility in India which is primarily intended to cater to the iPhone-maker.

According to a report by the Economic Times, Foxconn is planning to set the display module unit in a way that allows other manufacturers, like Pegatron or Tata Electronics to also use its components.

This means they won't have to rely on importing these modules from China as they can source them directly from Foxconn’s new facility in India instead.

While there is no fixed timeline for the project as such, sources cited in the report said that the manufacturer wants the project to be completed “as soon as possible”.

“Foxconn has picked up about 5,00,000 square feet at a plug and play facility at the ESR Oragadam Industrial & Logistics Park, which is right next to their smartphone assembly unit near Chennai,” the source stated.

This news comes at a time when Foxconn is already gearing up to assemble Google Pixel phones in the country. As per the report, the new facility can be seen as a strategic step to streamline operations. The Taiwanese giant is rapidly expanding its smartphone business in India and also concurrently aiming to lead in areas such as information and communication technology (ICT), electric vehicles (EVs) batteries, semiconductors, etc.

China Out of the Picture?

Not really. While the Dragon nation continues to be the top exporter of smartphones in the world, China has seen a steady decline in the number of its shipments. Preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker revealed that smartphone shipments in China reached 271.3mn units in 2023, marking a 5 per cent decrease as compared to 2022.

This also comes at a time when India is trying hard to become a manufacturing powerhouse, positioning itself as a global alternative to China.