iPhone maker Foxconn buys land outside Bengaluru, months after MoU with Karnataka and Telangana

The Apple store in Mumbai may be the first retail outlet for the iPhone in the country, but Indian factories had started assembling the high-end device years back in 2017. With the arrival of top iPhone manufacturers Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron from Taiwan, Chennai has become a hub for the handset in India.

Months after Foxconn signed a memorandum of understanding for a 300-acre iPhone factory with both Karnataka and Telangana, it has purchased 298 acres of land near Bengaluru.

Picks Karnataka over Telangana?

• In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, the firm also known as Hon Hai, announced the purchase of the land parcel near Bengaluru airport.

• It has paid Rs 300 crore for the deal, which is expected to lay the foundation for Foxconn's much-talked-about Apple factory in Karnataka.

• Once established the unit will generate more than 1 lakh jobs, as Foxconn is eyeing India as an alternative to China for manufacturing Apple products.

Betting big on shift away from China

• Apart from the purchase in Bengaluru, the company has also bought a massive plot in Vietnam, which is another country being considered by Foxconn to replace China.

• After Foxconn's Chairman visited Karnataka, its Chief Minister had claimed that Apple will start manufacturing iPhones in the state.

• Around the same time, reports also emerged claiming that Foxconn will invest as much as Rs 5,700 crore in Karnataka.