Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is close to signing a deal with the Indian government to open an iPhone manufacturing plant in the country, reports the Economic Times. More specifically, the company is looking for a 1,200-acre plot of land in Maharashtra.
Today’s news comes nearly one year after we first heard of Foxconn’s interest in building facilities in India. If the deal goes through, the electronics-maker hopes to construct a $10 billion building for assembling Apple’s smartphones, and others would likely follow.
Interestingly enough, Apple has also recently set its sights on India. Slowing iPhone sales has the company looking to less-saturated markets like China and India, and recently Tim Cook told CNBC that Apple sees India as a huge source for potential future growth.
In January Apple filed an application to open retail stores in India, and last month it received a thumbs up from the country’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to do so. The government, however, just turned down its request to sell used handsets.
Source: Economic Times