Tag: investment

Foxconn to Invest Over $1.5 Billion in India; Sent Chinese Engineers to Train Workers This Year: Reports

Apple supplier Foxconn will invest over $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 12,500 crore) in India as the company looks to expand production of Apple’s iPhone in the country, according to a report. The move comes a year after the Taiwanese firm’s factories in China were negatively impacted by the country’s strict COVID-19 restrictions in 2022. The company also reportedly flew Chinese engineers to India in order to train workers at its factory to improve efficiency earlier this year.

CNBC reports that Foxconn will invest more than $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 12,500 crore) to be budgeted for a “construction project to fulfil operational needs” of the company in the country, according to security filings. The multi-crore investment will be made via its subsidiary Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development, as per the report.

Foxconn’s representative in India said in September that the company was aiming to double its investment and workforce in India by 2024 as the firm looks to diversify its production outside China. The iPhone assembler was severely impacted last year when Chinese lockdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic affected production and output for weeks.

The company currently employs around 40,000 people at its iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu and recently flew out Chinese engineers to its iPhone manufacturing plant in Tamil Nadu to improve production, according to a Rest of World report. The company planned to manufacture iPhone 15 units in India in time so that they could ship alongside units made in other regions, on the launch day.

While Foxconn has achieved high levels of efficiency in China, the company’s Tamil Nadu plant was affected by a higher ratio of defective units and more expensive costs for materials — lowering profits from the factory compared its counterparts in China, according to the report that cites two persons close to the company.

Over the coming months, Foxconn will compete with the Tata Group as the Indian tech conglomerate recently completed its takeover of Wistron’s Indian unit. While the Tata Group was already producing components used in some iPhone models, the Wistron India acquisition will allow the company to assemble iPhone models in India, alongside Pegatron, Luxshare, and Foxconn.

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PhonePe Raises $200 Million Investment From Walmart in Its Ongoing Fundraise

Indian digital payments firm PhonePe said on Friday it has raised $200 million (nearly Rs. 1,650 crore) from majority backer Walmart at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion (nearly Rs. 99,000 crore).

PhonePe, already India’s most valuable payments firm and among the country’s most highly-valued startups, said the investment is part of its ongoing fundraise of up to $1 billion (nearly Rs. 8,250 crore).

It has raised $350 million (nearly Rs. 2,900 crore) from private equity firm General Atlantic and $100 million (nearly Rs. 820 crore) from Ribbit Capital, Tiger Global and TVS Capital Funds in the past two months, at the same $12 billion valuation.

American retail behemoth Walmart, which acquired a majority share in PhonePe in 2018, will continue as a majority investor, the Indian company said, without disclosing its stake.

Despite a funding winter, the Indian digital payments space has been a bright spot due to the popularity of online payments and startups’ ambitions to branch into the lucrative financial services space.

PhonePe said it plans to deploy these funds to build and scale new businesses including insurance, wealth management and lending.

PhonePe separated from Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart late last year, when it also shifted its registered headquarters from Singapore to India, with Walmart picking up the nearly $1 billion tax bill for the move.

The relocation, according to some reports, was to ensure an easier entry into the country’s highly-regulated financial services industry, especially lending.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

 

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