Taiwanese technology giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, commonly referred to as Foxconn, has received regulatory clearance for investments of over $2.2 billion in India and the United States, marking a critical juncture in India's development as a significant global manufacturing base.
The go-ahead, given by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), follows as international tech companies look to diversify their supply chains from China—a trend that increasingly works in India's favor given its favorable policy environment and initiatives such as 'Make in India' and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program.
Two large proposals from Foxconn have been approved by the Department of Investment Review of MOEA, as per a report by Focus Taiwan. They are one $1.49 billion capital injection into its Singaporean subsidiary Foxconn Singapore Pte Ltd, which will invest the money in Yuzhan Technology (India) Pvt Ltd, one of Foxconn's units which is present in India. This is part of Foxconn's overall strategy to enhance its manufacturing presence in India.
At present, the firm is investing $1.48 billion (approximately ₹12,800 crore) in building a manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, to assemble smartphone display modules—key components for products such as Apple's iPhones.
India's FDI Surge: Reforms Fueling Investment Boom
Industry observers consider Foxconn's latest development as part of a larger pattern highlighting India's growing attraction as a destination for manufacturing globally. India garnered more than $500 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows between 2014 and 2024—nearly twice the $208 billion between the previous decade.
Of this, a whopping $300 billion between 2019 and 2024 shows the frenetic speed of foreign investment. Sanjay Nayar, Assocham President, was quoted in a recent report as saying that this upsurge is being fostered by sweeping economic reforms and policy initiatives to increase the ease of doing business in India.
"Transformative schemes like Make in India, Digital India, and the PLI schemes have placed India as a center for clean technology and sustainable development," Nayar penned.
Earlier in 2014, almost 75–80% of smartphones retailed in India were imported. Now, in a sharp reversal of that trend, thanks among others to the PLI scheme, global technology titans such as Apple, through intermediaries such as Foxconn and Wistron, now locally assemble iPhones. Consequently, smartphone exports have risen sharply to $21 billion, making India a major export hub for mobile phones.
India is also witnessing strong growth in manufacturing-linked FDI, which increased by 18% during FY 2024–25 at $19.04 billion, against $16.12 billion of the last fiscal. According to Ministry of Commerce and Industry data, Singapore was the highest contributor (30%) to the inflows, followed by Mauritius (17%) and the United States (11%).
