Foxconn buys huge manufacturing site near India’s tech city

Bengaluru International Airport – probably quite a familiar sight to Apple execs at this point.

It seems like a few days since we last heard Apple news from India, but it’s time to change that situation up as Foxconn has just purchased a huge site in the nation’s tech hub, Bengaluru.

The new site is just beside the airport

Occupying 1.2 million square metres, the site is huge. It is situated in Devanahalli, close to Bengaluru’s airport and is being purchased at a cost of $37 million. Foxconn is also acquiring a smaller site in Vietnam.

Foxconn is Apple’s biggest iPhone manufacturing partner and has manufactured iPhones in India since 2019, so it is significant that the company has acquired this site.

The deal was confirmed in a financial disclosure from the firm filed on the London Stock Exchange.

Many, many jobs

Karnataka state chief minister Basavaraj S. Bommai said in March that Apple would “soon” manufacture iPhones in the state.

At that time, he promised this would create around 100,000 jobs on the factory lines. Foxconn chairman Young Liu visited the state to “deepen partnerships… and seek cooperation in new areas such as semiconductor development and electric vehicles.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook recently visited the nation to open the first retail stores there. During the recent fiscal call, he told analysts: “India is an incredibly exciting market. It’s a major focus for us. I was just there and the dynamism in the market, the vibrancy is unbelievable.”

“There are a lot of people coming into the middle class, and I really feel that India is at a tipping point, and it’s great to be there.”

Working at the highest levels

Cook has met with key ministers in India with a view to expanding the scope of its operations there.

“We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India’s future — from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we’re committed to growing and investing across the country,” he said following his meeting with PM Narendra Modi.

India is also interesting as the company is becoming increasingly dominant in the refurbished smartphone market there. This is accelerating growth in the company’s market share even as it prepares to ramp up services it provides there.

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