Hyderabad: Amid uncertainty over putative Foxconn investments in Telangana and Karnataka, the Telangana government Monday asserted that the Taiwanese tech giant is committed to setting up a manufacturing facility in the state, citing a letter from the company to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government, which also released a letter from Foxconn Monday, is “confident” about the company’s investment. ThePrint has seen a copy of the letter.
In the letter addressed to KCR, Foxconn chairman Young Liu said: “As discussed with you during our meeting on March 2nd, Foxconn is committed to setting up a manufacturing facility in Kongara Kalan and I seek the support of your team in operationalising the Kongara Kalan Park as early as possible.”
Kongara Kalan is a village in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district.
The Telangana Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) released a copy of the letter Monday.
After Liu and his delegation met the CM on 2 March, the Telangana government announced that Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, would set up an electronics manufacturing facility with the potential to employ more than one lakh people.
“The historic deal has the potential to generate employment for over one lakh people over a period of 10 years,” a CMO release read, adding that Foxconn “signed an agreement” at KCR’s official residence-cum-office, Pragathi Bhavan. The Telangana CMO also tweeted that Foxconn planned to set up electronics manufacturing facilities in Hyderabad.
Two days later, however, the company denied it “entered into any binding, definitive agreements”. This also came at a time when Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai announced that his state inked a deal with Foxconn to build Apple’s iPhones on a 300-acre factory in Bengaluru.
Foxconn is one of the largest electronics manufacturers and principal assemblers of iPhones.
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‘This amply clears doubts’
In its statement Monday, the Telangana CMO said that Liu, in a letter with a “personal touch” addressed to KCR dated 6 March, “explicitly confirmed the commitment of Foxconn in setting up a manufacturing facility in Kongara Kalan and sought the support of the Telangana team in operationalising the Kongara Kalan Park as early as possible”.
“This amply clears the doubts as raised in a certain section of the press that the world-famous Foxconn company was in a dilemma as to whether to set up the manufacturing facility in Telangana or not,” it added.
At their meeting on 2 March, Liu and the CM discussed diversifying electronics manufacturing for a resilient supply chain and the “pivotal” role to be played by the state government, according to the statement.
In his letter, Liu also thanked the Telangana CM for a “personalised card” given to him on his birthday (2 March) and invited him to Taiwan as his personal guest.
Karnataka ‘confident of investment’
The Karnataka government, too, received a letter from Foxconn Monday. In the letter, the company said it would work to take the project in Bengaluru forward.
“My team will be in close contact with your team to take this forward and ensure successful grounding of ‘Project Elephant’ in Bengaluru. I am confident that this project will lay a strong foundation for our other multiple plans, spanning mechanical/precision machinery, electric vehicle, IC design & semiconductor segments to consider your state a potential investment destination,” the letter from Liu said.
After Foxconn denied that it entered into any “binding agreements” in India, the Karnataka government had also released a ‘letter of intent’ two days ago. The letter, signed by Foxconn India’s Assistant Vice President Vincent Lee, expressed the intent to set up a 300-acre land manufacturing facility within a period of five years.
“The Karnataka government is confident of Foxconn’s investment in the state,” a source in Bommai’s office told ThePrint.
With inputs from Sharan Poovanna in Bengaluru
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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