Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., popularly known as Foxconn, is a Taiwan-based manufacturer of iPhones that intends to invest about $1.6 billion in India.

Without providing further information, the company claims in an exchange filing that the investment is for “operational needs” and will be made through Foxconn subsidiary Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development. A “supplemental announcement” will be made following the transaction’s confirmation, it further stated.

Foxconn produces iPhones for Apple, a leading US tech company. It has invested about $8 billion in India so far, employing 40,000 people. By 2024, the company intends to double its business size, employment, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, according to V Lee, its India representative.

In a LinkedIn post, Lee had shared these intentions and wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi a happy birthday in September 2023. “Under your leadership, Foxconn has grown smoothly and rapidly in India. We will work even harder to present you with a greater birthday gift next year, aiming for another doubling of employment, FDI, and business size in India,” the post read.

To increase iPhone production, Foxconn’s India subsidiary bought a 300-acre plot of land in May near Bengaluru, the country’s tech hub. The Taiwanese electronics giant’s ₹8,000-crore proposal to establish a mobile phone manufacturing facility close to Bengaluru was previously approved by the Karnataka government.

Apple iPhones are assembled in India by Wistron and Pegatron, two other Taiwanese companies. At its Hosur facility in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district, Wistron produces Apple products.

Foxconn had formed a joint venture in 2022 to produce semiconductors, but earlier this year, the company broke up with domestic mining behemoth Vedanta. In order to apply for the government’s Modified Programme for Semiconductors and Display Fab Ecosystem, the company is currently working on this. The company had stated that the deal had fallen through because “there was recognition from both sides that the project was not moving fast enough.”

The business had stated that creating fabs from scratch in a foreign country was difficult. “We have been working on challenges like this since the 1980s. Foxconn has no intention to do anything but continue to strongly support the government’s “Make In India” ambitions and establish a diversity of local partnerships that meet the needs of stakeholders,” it said.

In the third quarter of 2023, Foxconn’s revenue amounted to NT$1.5432 trillion, and the company’s gross profit margin surged to 6.66% due to improvements in all major profit margins. Its net profit was NT$43.1 billion, a sequential growth of 31% and an annual growth of 11%, while its gross profit margin reached a quarterly record high not seen since 2017.

In its outlook, the business states: “Looking ahead to next year, the company believes that it needs to observe factors such as monetary policy, inflation, and the political and economic situation; currently the company’s holds a neutral view for 2024.”