Following Foxconn Technology Group's recent announcement to shift some of its manufacturing operations to India from China, it has been learnt that Taiwan's tech giant will produce Xiaomi smartphones in Andhra Pradesh.
The world's largest electronics contract manufacturer will make about 10,000 phones per day for Xiaomi at a leased facility in Sri City, located in southern part of Andhra Pradesh, a source told The Economic Times.
Foxconn is also planning on making smartphones, tablets, televisions, routers, set-top boxes and printers in India, said a source.
Earlier, Apple iPhone assembler Foxconn had said it would set up 10 to 12 manufacturing units in India by 2020. The electronics contract manufacturer seems to be in discussions with its top client Apple on the proposed investments in India.
Each facility is expected to employ at least 10,000 people and the company plans to invest about $2 billion (₹12,700 crore) towards setting up these facilities over the next five years.
"India is the top priority for the company, which is why Foxconn is already holding talks with various state governments," said the source.
Confirming initial talks with the Indian authorities, a source close to the development said the company is weighing options to start manufacturing units in various states, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
Currently, Foxconn manufactures iPhones and iPads for Apple and Kindle e-book readers for Amazon Inc, besides making electronics equipment for top global tech firms such as Cisco, Dell, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.
Foxconn wants to shift its operations to India due to rising wages in China.
In April, Chinese handset maker Xiaomi had also announced to set up manufacturing units in India as it saw robust demand for its phones in the world's third largest smartphone market.
"Our manufacturing plans are still a work-in-progress. Until we finalise on them, we won't be able to comment on speculation," said Xiaomi India spokesperson.
Founded in 2010, Xiaomi witnessed rapid growth to emerge as the top smartphone vendor in China, the world's second largest smartphone market. The company's smartphone shipments more than tripled to 61.1 million units last year, with revenues seeing a two-fold increase.
