Apple supplier Foxconn to expand Vietnam production

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn, the main assembler of Apple's iPhones, is expected to expand manufacturing in Vietnam and India, Taiwan Ratings of S&P Global said.

“We believe the company will gradually boost its production presence in Vietnam and India, given the improving infrastructure provided by their governments,” Taiwan Ratings said in a bulletin released Monday.

“The company assembles most of its networking and communications products outside of mainland China, such as in Taiwan and Mexico. However, about 75% of its overall capacity remains in China, particularly for iPhone manufacturing,” said the Taiwan-based unit of S&P Global.

The Apple supplier signed a deal in Vietnam this August to rent an additional 50.5 hectares of land in Quang Chau Industrial Park in Bac Giang province near Hanoi. Foxconn plans to develop a new project with an investment estimated at some $300 million but did not disclose what it would manufacture.

At the IP, the Taiwanese corporation has so far leased 70 hectares for its facilities and spent a total of $773 million on them, not counting the upcoming project, which is expected to create more than 30,000 local jobs, according to Quang Chau IP’s data.

As of December 2020, Foxconn as the world’s largest electronics contractor had channeled $1.5 billion into Vietnam, according to the giant.

Saigon-Bac Giang Industrial Park Corp. has just been allowed to expand Quang Chau IP with an additional 90 hectares, totalling a new area of 516 hectares, with an investment of nearly $40 million.

Foxconn, or Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., said on Monday that computing products, smart consumer electronics, and networking products all delivered double-digit percentage sales growth last month.

From January to the end of last month, its revenue expanded 16.89% to NT$5.44 trillion (nearly $171.1 billion) from NT$4.65 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($146.2 billion).