Tata All Set To Spend Rs 5000 Cr For Buying iPhone Factory In India: Wistron’s iPhone Factory Can Be Acquired

Tata Group is in discussions with Wistron Corp to buy its manufacturing facility in Karnataka.

Karnataka presence in India

This plant is significant as it’s one of Apple Inc’s top vendors in India.

Tata, which is India’s top conglomerate with revenue of about $128 billion, has offered to buy the manufacturing facility in Karnataka for up to Rs 5,000 crore ($612.6 million).

Wistron began making iPhones in India in 2017, after years of efforts by Apple to add manufacturing capabilities in the country.

The Taipei-based company currently assembles iPhones at the plant in Karnataka.

First domestic company to build iPhones

In September it was reportedly in talks with the Tata Group to establish an electronics manufacturing joint venture in India.

If the deal goes through, it would make Tata the first Indian company to build iPhones, which are currently assembled by Taiwanese manufacturing giants like Wistron and Foxconn Technology Group in China and India.

An Indian company making iPhones would give India a leg up in its effort to challenge China.

The latter’s dominance in electronics manufacturing has already suffered due to rolling Covid lockdowns and political tensions with the US.

It could also persuade other global electronics brands to consider assembly in India to reduce their reliance on China at this time where it is facing increasing geopolitical risks.

Beyond smartphones

Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran has said electronics and high-tech manufacturing are key focus areas for the company.

It boasts of varied industries such as software, steel and cars with early steps in the smartphone supply chain by starting to manufacture iPhone chassis components in Karnataka.

For Wistron’s Indian business the pact would act as a lifesaver, and pose Tata as a formidable local partner with deep pockets.

The latter’s reach also spans automobiles including electric vehicles, an area many of the world’s tech giants are eager to expand in.

PLI Scheme

It is followed by the local units of Samsung and Foxconn, investing ?900 crore and ?650 crore, respectively.

Further, Wistron InfoComm recently emerged as the single biggest investor under the government’s PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing, bringing in ?1,250 crore.

This scheme was launched in March 2020 to encourage manufacturing and create jobs.

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