Hong Kong (CNN) Apple supplier Foxconn says it is seeking Indian partners to collaborate in areas such as chips and electric vehicles, as its chief executive wrapped up a visit to the country.
Taiwanese Foxconn (HNHPF) has been looking to expand its operations in the South Asian giant after suffering severe supply disruptions in China last year. The company came back from the disruptions at the beginning of the year.
“India is a country with a large population,” Young Liu, the company’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement on Saturday. “My trip this week supported Foxconn’s efforts to deepen partnerships … and seek collaboration in new areas such as semiconductor development and electric vehicles.”
“Foxconn will continue to communicate with local authorities to seek the most beneficial development opportunities for the company and all stakeholders,” he added.
The company, best known for making Apple (AAPL)‘s iPhones, is one of the world’s largest contract manufacturers of electronics. It is now expanding into other areas, including electric vehicles.
Liu did not specify any investment spending in India during his trip, which included a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The company already has factories in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
On Friday, the investment promotion office in the southern Indian state of Karnataka said Foxconn had announced a bigger deal there and that 300 hectares of land had been set aside for a plant. The investment will generate 100,000 jobs over 10 years in the state, it says.
According to a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources, the company plans to invest around $700 million in a new factory in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, to manufacture iPhone parts.
India has emerged as an attractive potential alternative to China for the likes of Apple. One of India’s top ministers, Piyush Goyal, said in January that Apple wants to increase its production in the South Asian country to a quarter of its total from between 5% and 7% now.
For years, Apple had relied on a large manufacturing network in China to mass-produce iPhones, iPads and other popular products. But its reliance on the country was tested last year by Beijing’s strict zero-Covid strategy, which was quickly dismantled last December.
Apple devices are currently manufactured in India by Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron, all of which are Taiwanese companies.
— CNN’s Diksha Madhok contributed reporting