Tata Group is all set to become India's first iPhone maker. The conglomerate is close to signing an agreement to acquire a supplier factory for Apple in India, reported Bloomberg quoting sources. The deal is expected to be closed as soon as August.
The report further adds that a takeover of Karnataka's Wistron Corp. factory, potentially valued at more than $600 million, would cap about a year of negotiations. The facility employs more than 10,000 workers, who assemble the latest iPhone 14 model.
Wistron has committed to ship iPhones worth at least $1.8 billion from the factory in the fiscal year through March 2024 to win state-backed financial incentives, the people said. It also planned to triple the plant’s workforce by next year. Tata is set to honor those commitments as Wistron exits the iPhone business in India.
Apple has stepped up efforts to diversify away from China in the aftermath of the country’s Covid lockdowns and rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.
iPhone maker Foxconn's huge site in India tech hub
Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn in May this year, had bought a huge tract of land on the outskirts of Indian tech hub Bengaluru as Apple looks to diversify production away from China.
Also known by its official name, Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn is the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturer and a principal assembler of Apple iPhones.