According to a filing with the London Stock Exchange (LSE), Hon Hai Precision Industry for approximately Rs 300 crore ($37 million) has bought a 300 acre land in the Bengaluru rural district of Karnataka. On May 9, the purchase was done on behalf of its subsidiary Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development.
The land is located in Devanahalli near Kempegowda International Airport, in the outskirts of Bengaluru. Foxconn is the biggest supplier of Apple iPhone parts and the company looks to diversify production away from China.
"They are going to take possession of the land after the May 10 elections" Gunjan Krishna, commissioner for industrial development and director, department of industries and commerce, Karnataka government told a news source.
The Government of Karnataka inked a MoU with Foxconn on March 20 and the company has committed to invest Rs 8,000 crore for a mobile manufacturing unit that would provide employment opportunities for 50,000 people in the state.
It may be recalled that in a letter to Bommai dated March 6, Foxconn expressed its keenness to set up an electronics manufacturing unit as part of its ‘Project Elephant’ in Bengaluru. A team of senior executives from Foxconn led by Liu and 16 senior leaders of the company were in the city on March 3.
On March 3, up to 300 acres of land were identified for the manufacturing facility for Foxconn at Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) industrial area at Doddaballapur in Devanahalli Taluk near the Bengaluru International Airport. The electronics manufacturing unit was projected to generate more than 1 lakh employment opportunities in the next 10 years within the state. A day later, on March 4, the company stated that it had not entered into any binding, definitive agreements for new investments during the trip. This is despite a Letter of Intent being signed between the company and the Karnataka government on March 3.
