BackFoxconn confirms investment in Snapdeal, nears deal with Greendust
Foxconn says it will work with multiple partners in India, including Adani, Micromax, Snapdeal, and could look at other refurbished goods companies, too
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New Delhi: Taiwanese contract manufacturing company Foxconn late on Tuesday said the firm was close to finalizing a deal with refurbished goods seller Greendust, run by Reverse Logistics Co., in a move to support the government’s Clean India initiative.
At a conference in New Delhi, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said the deal was almost final.
Gou also confirmed Foxconn’s investment in India’s second largest online marketplace Snapdeal.com. However, he refused to share any financial details of the transaction.
Snapdeal has been in talks with Foxconn and Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to raise funds, Mint reported in June.
Gou said e-commerce reduces the dependence on conventional supply chain and “shortens the distance between goods and consumers".
Foxconn said it will work with multiple partners in the country, including Adani, Micromax, Snapdeal and could look at other refurbished goods companies, too.
Some of the other firms in the refurbished industry include Karma Recycling Pvt. Ltd, Attero Recycling Pvt. Ltd and ReGlobe, run by Waste Management Pvt. Ltd.
Gou, who is betting big on India’s start-up ecosystem, said the country is currently buzzing with young talent, like how Silicon Valley was nearly a decade ago.
Foxconn, which is looking to manufacture products beyond smartphones in the country, said it will bring the entire supply-chain ecosystem as it looks to go beyond just product assembly.
Gou said Foxconn will start producing televisions, routers, switches, storage equipment and batteries among other devices.
However, the he pointed out, India needs to address shortcomings in issues such as land, supply-chain, power, carbon emission, etc.
According to Gou, they will work closely with partners and government in order to improve the manufacturing environment in the country.
Foxconn could end up investing more than $2 billion in setting up 10-12 facilities in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The company began its second leg of manufacturing in India in June by producing Xiaomi smartphones in Andhra Pradesh, after shutting its Chennai factory in February.
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