Apple supplier Foxconn is on the lookout for semiconductor and electric vehicle deals in India | CNN Business

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CNN
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Apple supplier Foxconn says it is looking for Indian partners to cooperate in areas such as chips and electric vehicles, as its chief executive wrapped up a visit to the country.

Taiwan’s Foxconn has been looking to expand its operations in the South Asian giant after suffering severe supply disruptions in China last year. The company recovered from the outages earlier this year.

“India is a country with a large population,” Young Liu, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement on Saturday. “My trip this week supported Foxconn’s efforts to deepen partnerships … and seek cooperation in new areas such as semiconductor development and electric vehicles.”

“Foxconn will continue to communicate with local governments to seek the most beneficial development opportunities for the company and all stakeholders,” he added.

The company, best known for making Apple’s ( AAPL ) iPhones, is one of the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturers. It is now expanding into other areas, including electric vehicles.

Liu did not specify any investment expenses in India during his trip, including a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The company already has factories in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

On Friday, the investment promotion office of the southern Indian state of Karnataka said Foxconn had announced an important deal there and that 300 hectares of land had been allocated for a facility. The investment will create 100,000 jobs over 10 years in the state, he said.

According to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources, the company plans to invest about $700 million in a new plant in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, to make iPhone parts.

India has become an attractive potential alternative to China for Apple. One of India’s top ministers, Piyush Goyal, said in January that Apple wants to increase its production in the South Asian country to a quarter of its total total from between 5% and 7% now .

For years, Apple had relied on an extensive manufacturing network in China to mass-produce iPhones, iPads and other popular products. But its reliance on the country was tested last year by Beijing’s strict zero-Covid strategy, which was quickly dismantled last December.

Apple devices are currently manufactured in India by Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, all Taiwanese companies.

– CNN’s Diksha Madhok contributed reporting