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Foxconn in investment talks with US

The Taiwanese electronics giant has said it's looking to expand in the US.
Written by Chris Duckett, Contributor

Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, the maker of Apple iPhones, has announced that it's in talks with the United States government to boost investment there.

The world's largest maker of electronic products for international brands said in a statement that it is studying a major expansion in the US.

Foxconn Technology Group thanked the White House's Office of American Innovation, created by President Donald Trump and directed by Jared Kushner, for its efforts to pave the way for the company's negotiations with the US government.

This statement follows a two-day visit by Foxconn president Terry Gou to the White House.

Gou told the media that Hon Hai planned to make a "capital intensive investment" in the US market.

"We are planning a series of investments in America. This project will include capital intensive investment and skilled labour and high technology," Gou said.

Media in Taiwan said Gou, accompanied by a delegation including Foxconn vice president Tai Jeng-wu, visited the White House and met with Trump.

Foxconn in late January said that if its customers like Apple cooperate, it could make investments in the US worth more than $7 billion. Apple makes up approximately half of Foxconn's revenue.

The Taiwanese company has manufacturing facilities in China with more than 1 million employees.

Foxconn began talks to expand into the US last year, and followed a 2014 examination of a move into the country.

Back in November, reports said Apple approached its iPhone manufacturers, Foxconn and Pegatron, to move operations into the US. Foxconn reportedly told Apple that such a move would more than double the cost of an iPhone.

At the start of 2016, then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he would force Apple to bring its manufacturing back to the United States, and he would levy a tariff on imports.

"We're going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries," Trump said.

For 2016, the company announced $136 billion in revenue, a drop of almost 3 percent and its first revenue fall since it went public in 1991.

In August last year, Foxconn completed its acquisition of debt-ridden Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp for around $3.5 billion.

As part of the acquisition, Sharp's president and chief executive officer Kozo Takahashi has stepped down from the role, with Tai Jeng-wu, vice chairman of Foxconn, named as his replacement.

With AAP

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