Foxconn CEO predicts India will be key player in manufacturing in future

NEW DELHI: India will be an important country in terms of manufacturing in future, Young Liu, Chairman and CEO of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) has said, his latest comment adding to a growing chorus of global voices acknowledging the country’s bold moves to position itself as electronics and hi-tech production powerhouse.

In an interaction with reporters in Taipei, the top honcho of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant said the development of the entire ecosystem and industrial chain, and opportunities for development in India are “very, very huge opportunities”.

“If there is no big change, India will be a very important country in terms of manufacturing in the future,” Liu said. In the past, it took 30 years to build the entire supply chain ecosystem in China, he noted, adding that while it will take an “appropriate amount of time in India” and the process will be shorter given the experience. The environment too is not quite the same, he said pointing to the advent of new technologies like AI and generative AI.

In July this year, while addressing SemiconIndia 2023, Foxconn had said it is optimistic about the direction of India’s semiconductor roadmap and asserted that Taiwan is and will be India’s most trusted and reliable partner.

“Let’s do this together,” the top boss of Foxconn had said at that time. Government sources noted that the Foxconn chief is backing PM’s Make-in-India.

Liu has expressed that reforms and policies in India have created huge opportunities for the development of the entire electronics manufacturing ecosystem, the sources said citing the recent media briefing in Taipei where Liu spoke to reporters.

It is pertinent to mention that India is wooing global IT and electronics players with policy sweeteners and incentive schemes, making a push to position itself as a global hub for hi-tech manufacturing. India hopes to play on the strength of its storied talent and skill base, vibrant market, and enabling policies to corner a substantial chunk of new investments flowing into electronics and semiconductor production, and global value chains.

Recently, as many as 40 companies, including big names like Foxconn Group, HP, Dell and Lenovo, applied for incentives under India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) IT hardware scheme for manufacturing laptops, PCs and servers.

Last month, Foxconn also said it sees the potential of investing several billions of dollars in India if it gets to completely implement its plan.

Liu during Foxconn’s second quarter earnings call in August had said that the company’s Indian arm has achieved a turnover of close to $10 bn on an annual basis and there is a lot of investment potential in India. He had said Foxconn operates about 9 campuses in India.