Source :firstpost.com

According to sources, the Tata Group is close to signing an agreement to acquire a $600 million Apple Inc. (AAPL) factory owned by a supplier, becoming India’s first Indian firm to enter the smartphone assembly business.According to the sources, the deal, which is expected to be finalized in the next few days, comes after months of negotiations between the Tata Group and Apple Inc. ( AAPL).The Wistron factory, located in South Karnataka, is estimated to employ over 10,000 people and assembles the latest iPhone (14).The sources say that due diligence on the deal is complete and the deal is expected to be signed in the next couple of days.There are still some issues that need to be addressed, but they are expected to be resolved before the deal is finalized.In exchange for the purchase of the factory, the company has agreed to ship at least $ 1.8 billion worth of iPhones from the factory by March 2024, and will triple the workforce by the end of next year.It is expected that Tata will honor the commitments made by Wistron as soon as the deal is closed.

Source: apple.com

The launch of an iPhone made in India is expected to help Apple to expand its manufacturing operations outside of China and strengthen its presence in South Asia. In the three-month period ending June 30, Apple’s Taiwan-based supplier Wistron exported almost half a billion dollars worth of iPhones to India. Other Apple suppliers such as Foxconn Technology Group (Foxconn) and Pegatron Corp. (Pegatron) have also increased their operations in India.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India has made considerable progress in domestic manufacturing, with government programs offering attractive financial incentives to encourage production and job creation.Challenges to China’s Dominance as the World’s Factory
An Indian company that produces iPhones could be a key factor in Prime Minister Modi’s efforts to transform the global manufacturing ecosystem. It could also encourage other global electronics brands to look at manufacturing in India to reduce their dependence on China. The Tata Group, which has been around for 155 years, operates in a variety of industries, from salt to technology services. In the past few years, the group has expanded into electronics manufacturing and online shopping, two areas that are relatively new to the Tata family, including chipmaking. Currently, the iPhone chassis, which is the metal framework for the device, is produced at a large-scale factory in the state of Tamil Nadu.