Taiwanese firm Foxconn Technology Group, a key supplier to Apple Inc., on Monday gave a commitment to the Tamil Nadu government to invest ₹1,600 crore to establish a manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district. The investment will be made by its subsidiary Foxconn Industrial Internet (Fii). A letter of intent was signed in the presence of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu. This was also Mr. Liu’s first visit to Tamil Nadu.
“Was delighted to meet the Foxconn Group Chairman Mr. Young Liu and his team. Various investment opportunities in Tamil Nadu were discussed. Investment commitment to establish a mobile component manufacturing facility in Kancheepuram district for ₹1,600 crore, with a potential employment for 6,000 persons, was signed in my presence. We also discussed further investments in electric vehicles (EV) and electronic components. Another milestone in our ambition to make Tamil Nadu the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia!” Mr. Stalin tweeted.
Later in the day, Mr. Liu signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IIT-M) and Guidance (the nodal agency instrumental in bringing investments to the State).
According to a senior government official, this MoU enables Foxconn to support research and development capabilities in partnership with IIT-M for Tamil Nadu to improve the talent pool’s skills and industry readiness to cater to the evolving needs of the electronics industry and share knowledge and best practices in higher-order talent and workforce development.
Mr. Liu also went to IIT-M Research Park with State Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce T.R.B. Rajaa and his team. The duo held discussions with Ashok Jhunjhunwala, president of IIT-M Research Park and IIT-M Incubation cell.
After visiting a few start-ups inside the research park, Mr. Liu, in a quick interaction with media, said he also visited the company’s largest plant in Indian at Sriperumbudur, which employs about 40,000 people. “There are six to seven buildings that are under construction at the facility. It is going quite well, and we can definitely do more in the future,” he added.
Mr. Rajaa said: “Foxconn’s repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the State being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world,” and added, “With this proposed investment, and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years. This will play a critical role in attaining our Chief Minister’s ambition of a $1-trillion economy in Tamil Nadu.”
A few days ago, Brand Cheng, Fii Chief Executive Officer, had met Mr. Stalin and Mr. Rajaa and discussed their plans. The development also comes at a time when Tamil Nadu has become the top exporter of electronic goods in India, with exports nearly tripling during 2022-2023 to $5.37 billion. The State accounted for 22.8% of India’s electronic exports.
