Foxconn invites bids for building iPhone factory in Karnataka

The project will be executed through Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Pvt.

Taiwanese electronics major Foxconn has invited bids for the construction of a plant in Karnataka with an outlay of Rs 1,200 crore. "Foxconn's recent bid for plant construction is for an iPhone factory which it is setting up in Karnataka," a source aware of the development said.

The Karnataka government has approved an investment proposal of around Rs 22,000 crore from Foxconn.

The project will be executed through Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Pvt.

Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development, a unit of the Taiwanese contract manufacturer, will invest $37.2 million for a 40 percent stake in the joint venture, the company said.

Notably, on February 6, Foxconn had said in a regulatory filing that the announcement about inviting bids was on behalf of its subsidiary Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Pvt Ltd for engaging others to build the plant. But, the sources quoted by news agency PTI clarified that the said Rs 1,200 crore bid is not for the company's semiconductor joint venture with HCL.

Foxconn, the world’s largest assembler of iPhones and other electronics, is expanding in India as geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty begin to disrupt its primary operations in China.

Foxconn has been India’s leading manufacturer of iPhones, contributing 68 percent of total production, followed by Pegatron at 18 percent and Wistron [Tata] at 14 percent.

On January 25, the government conferred the Padma Bhushan on Young Liu, chairman of Foxconn.