BENGALURU: Taiwanese contract manufacturing giant Foxconn has said it did not enter into “any binding, definitive agreements” in India during its chairman and chief executive officer Young Liu’s recent visit to the country, AFP reported on Saturday from Taipei.
The Foxconn statement appeared to be in response to announcements made by the governments of Karnataka and Telangana in the past few days that suggested that large investment deals by the iPhone maker in their respective states had been finalised.
“Negotiations and internal review are ongoing. Financial investment sums discussed in media are not information being released by Foxconn,” the company said. It also said the employment figures that were reported “do not equate to direct jobs” with the company. Both Karnataka and Telangana had said that the Foxconn projects in their respective states would generate one lakh jobs. But it wasn’t clear whether those would be direct jobs, or whether those included indirect ones.
TOI had reported correctly that the Karnataka government and Foxconn had signed a letter of intent to establish a major facility in Bengaluru, and that the state government had shown the visiting delegation a 300-acre site near Bengaluru international airport. A letter of intent is not a conclusive agreement.
However, Karnataka government officials expressed confidence that the investment agreement was just a matter of time. “I can only state this much, Foxconn will come to Karnataka and the groundwork is being completed for the purpose,” state IT/BT minister CN Ashwath Narayan said.
An industries department official said the state high-level clearance committee (SHLCC) – which has to clear all large projects – is expected to give Foxconn clearance for the 300 acres near the airport when the committee meets in the coming week. “We expect the manufacturing unit of the company to be set up as early as next year,” the department official said.
The department also said there was no faux pas in Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s statement of one lakh jobs being created because that number is mentioned in the letter of intent.
The Foxconn statement appeared to be in response to announcements made by the governments of Karnataka and Telangana in the past few days that suggested that large investment deals by the iPhone maker in their respective states had been finalised.
“Negotiations and internal review are ongoing. Financial investment sums discussed in media are not information being released by Foxconn,” the company said. It also said the employment figures that were reported “do not equate to direct jobs” with the company. Both Karnataka and Telangana had said that the Foxconn projects in their respective states would generate one lakh jobs. But it wasn’t clear whether those would be direct jobs, or whether those included indirect ones.
TOI had reported correctly that the Karnataka government and Foxconn had signed a letter of intent to establish a major facility in Bengaluru, and that the state government had shown the visiting delegation a 300-acre site near Bengaluru international airport. A letter of intent is not a conclusive agreement.
However, Karnataka government officials expressed confidence that the investment agreement was just a matter of time. “I can only state this much, Foxconn will come to Karnataka and the groundwork is being completed for the purpose,” state IT/BT minister CN Ashwath Narayan said.
An industries department official said the state high-level clearance committee (SHLCC) – which has to clear all large projects – is expected to give Foxconn clearance for the 300 acres near the airport when the committee meets in the coming week. “We expect the manufacturing unit of the company to be set up as early as next year,” the department official said.
The department also said there was no faux pas in Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai’s statement of one lakh jobs being created because that number is mentioned in the letter of intent.
