India is all set to become the next China regarding iPhone manufacturing. A week ago, Reuters reported that Foxconn to begin assembling top-end Apple iPhones in India in 2019. And now, DigiTimes reports that Wistron is expanding investment in India.
As per the sources, Wistron has increased its authorized capital expenditure in India to meet its future development plans.
India to Become Next iPhone Manufacturing Hub After China
Notably, Wistron has already started manufacturing iPhone SE models in India at its Bangalore unit in 2017. After the success of Bangalore unit, the company wants to take its production spree to the next level and likes to include iPhone 6s in its kitty.
Wistron keeps mum over which handsets the company is planning to manufacture in India. Interestingly, Suresh Prabhu, India’s Commerce and Industry Minister said he would meet with Apple’s top brass at Davos conference next month.
Apart from deteriorating US-China trade relationship, Apple has other challenges in the world’s most populous country. This encourages Apple to explore other markets to expand its iPhone production.
Wistron’s Presence in India
Wistron is not only going to manufacture smartphone production in its Narasapura plant but also likely to be moving part of its computer, Internet of Things, medical and cloud service business to India. Notably, Wistron’s new authorized capital expenditure is INR 30 billion ($430.62 million). The current paid-up capital of the company in India is INR 1.8 billion.
Apple wants to take dual advantage of India’s population. The tech giant wants to tap large consumer market, apart from setting up the country as its manufacturing location. Even as India has a huge population of nearly 1.339 billion, Apple has failed to make the most of this consumer cluster. In the first half of 2018, Apple sold fewer than one million iPhones in India.
Signing off…
By roping in Nokia’s veteran to head India’s operation, Apple has already made its intentions clear to do something big in the country. India has long been on the radar screen of Apple.
This decision is probably taken as Apple has not cordial relations with Qualcomm and Huawei in China as the chip maker accuses Apple of violating Qualcomm software patents. Huawei has its headquarters in China, and the company’s CFO Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Canada for later extradition to the US.
Let’s hope iPhone makers pour more investment into India as this land holds much promise for western conglomerates. Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback with us in the comment section.
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