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Celia Chen

Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of consumer electronics, said it’s planning a multibillion dollar investment in the US state of Michigan, a week after announcing a US$10 billion plant in Wisconsin, giving a shot in the arm to Donald Trump’s election pledge to lure investments and create jobs for Americans.
The new investment will be engaged in the research and development of vehicles that can drive autonomously, said Terry Gou, founder of the Taiwanese company, on Saturday in Shenzhen.
Read: Foxconn may follow, if Trump US tech firms back to America
“Automotive development in the US is still more advanced than China,” said Gou, declining to divulge the investment amount for Michigan. “Besides self-driving technology, I’m also interested in artificial intelligence and deep learning technology.”
Foxconn’s Wisconsin plant will assemble liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, with an operation that creates 3,000 jobs, and with the potential to expand to 13,000 jobs over four years.
Anatomy of an iPhone: What’s in it and where its parts come from
The Taiwanese company, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., could triple its investment to US$30 billion eventually, Trump had said earlier without elaborating on details.
“The amount of investment has not been confirmed,” Gou said, when asked about his company’s potential investment in the United States where Gou said he prefers the middle states and western territories.
Michigan, in the US mid west, is home to Detroit, the heart of the US automotive industry, where General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp have their headquarters.
Founded in 1974, Foxconn is the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, and has been an assembler of computers for Dell, as well as iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc. For many years, it’s based its assemblies in low-wage countries such as China, putting together gadgets that eventually are distributed and sold in the US and Europe.
Read: Why America may prove a cheaper option than China for Foxconn
With tax incentives and subsidies by US states desperate for Foxconn’s investments, setting up plants in America may turn out to be cheaper than producing in China, where manufacturing is increasingly hobbled by rising wages and scarcity of trained labour. It’s also a fillip to the Trump administration’s “America First” mantra.
Foxconn hasn’t been alone. Toyota and Mazda said this week they will jointly build a US$1.6 billion assembly with the capacity to produce 300,000 electric self-driving cars and create up to 4,000 jobs.
Read: Warning for China as electronics giant Foxconn plugs into US incentives
The commitment by the Taiwan company, which operates at least half a dozen facilities in mainland China with close to 1 million workers on staff, does not mean Foxconn will reduce its investments in China, Gou said.
“We will take advantage of different regions to develop our business,” he said. “An increase in investment in the US does not necessarily mean a reduction in investment in China.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated Foxconn’s Wisconsin plant would have the potential to expand to 130,000 jobs over four years. This figure has been amended to 13,000.


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Foxconn

Foxconn gives Trump’s jobs vow  a shot in the arm with multibillion dollar investment in Michigan

Terry Gou (centre) at the East Room of the White House during a July 26 announcement of Foxconn’s US$10 billion investment in Wisconsin. Photo: AFP

Alibaba, Foxconn invest US$500m in Snapdeal as it targets US$22b Indian e-commerce market

Snapdeal has closed a US$500 million funding round which included Alibaba, Foxconn and Softbank as investors. Photo: AFP

Apple supplier Foxconn cancels factory plan in Indonesia despite talk of ploughing US$1 billion into economy: report

Foxconn is reportedly reversing plans to invest heavily in Indonesia. Photo: AFP 

Apple supplier Foxconn denies report it is cutting 1.3 million work force

Apple CEO Tim Cook visits an iPhone production line at a Foxconn facility in China in 2012. Foxconn denied reports it is cutting its labour force. Photo: Bloomberg

Apple supplier Foxconn to build US$10 bn plant in Wisconsin

Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou (C) greets Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (L) as House Speaker Paul Ryan applauds during a White House event where the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn announced plans to build a US$10 billion dollar LCD display panel screen plant in Wisconsin. Photo: Reuters

FILE - In this May 26, 2010 file photo, staff members work on the production line at the Foxconn complex in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, southern China. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says President Donald Trump plans to make a "major jobs announcement for Wisconsin" as anticipation builds it will be about electronics giant Foxconn locating in the state. Taiwan-based Foxconn is best known as the assembler of the iPhone. Wisconsin is among seven states, mostly in the Midwest, that the company has named as possible locations to build the its first liquid-crystal display factory that could mean tens of thousands of jobs. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

As labour costs rise in China, Apple supplier Foxconn doubling down on India with US$5 billion investment

Amid rising labour costs in China, Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, has been exploring automation and moving operations overseas. Photo: AP

Foxconn founder Terry Guo tells a news conference in New Delhi that the Taiwanese manufacturer will invest US$5 billion in India. Photo: Reuters