Tata Group will begin manufacturing iPhones in India for local and global markets, India’s deputy IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced on Friday, moments after Wistron’s board of directors approved the sale of the Taiwanese company’s plant in the southern part of India to the technology conglomerate to airlines. .
Wistron’s board of directors approved the deal to sell Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Pvt to Tata for $125 million, the Taiwanese company said in a stock exchange filing on Friday. Wistron, one of the three iPhone manufacturers in India, said it finalized the deal after strategic considerations in response to the company’s reshaping of its global manufacturing strategy.
The agreement comes after the two companies negotiated terms for more than a year. Tata, which will become the first Indian company to assemble iPhones, declined to comment.
The 155-year-old Tata Group is involved in multiple businesses, from salt sales to steel production and technology consulting services. The company, which has forged joint ventures with many global companies including Starbucks, previously said it will launch 100 Apple stores in the South Asian market.
“Thank you Wistron for your contributions and a big step forward for Apple in building a global supply chain from India with Indian companies leading the way.” wrote Chandrasekhar on social platform X.
“The Ministry of Electronics and IT fully supports the growth of global Indian electronics companies who will in turn support global electronics brands who wish to make India their reliable manufacturing and talent partner and realize PM’s goal of make India a global electronics power. “
Friday’s announcement comes after Google revealed its plans to begin assembling its line of Pixel smartphones in India. Dozens of companies are betting on turning India into a global manufacturing hub and reducing their dependence on China in what analysts often call a “China + 1” strategy.
New Delhi, for its part, is actively offering financial incentives worth billions of dollars to attract global companies to set up manufacturing operations in India.
“With India’s growing domestic demand and the government’s focus on local manufacturing, including policy support (lower taxes, production-linked incentive scheme, etc.) and export opportunities driven by the China+ strategy 1 global player, India’s EMS (electronic and finished goods manufacturing) industry is “We are on the cusp of strong medium-term growth,” Macquarie analysts wrote in a recent note.
Meanwhile, Apple is increasingly turning its attention to India, the world’s second-largest smartphone market. The company opened its first two outlets in the county earlier this year and is collaborating with HDFC Bank to launch the Apple Pay service in the country, TechCrunch previously reported.
