Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is considering spending more than US$7 billion to build a flat-panel plant in the US in a joint project with Sharp Corp, company chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) said.
“The US is the second-largest TV market in the world and yet it does not have a panel industry... It is a good idea to build a display facility there,” Gou told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s annual party at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Hall on Sunday.
It was the first time Gou publicly confirmed an investment plan in the US since US President Donald Trump’s election.
Gou said he has been in discussions with Hon Hai vice president and Sharp president Tai Jeng-wu (戴正吳) to build a 10th-generation display plant in the US as part of the company’s efforts to expand Sharp’s global presence and market share.
“I have also discussed with major clients, such as Apple [Inc], about entering the US and they showed willingness to invest together, as they need the [panels] as well,” Gou said.
Gou said the investment could create as many as 50,000 jobs, but said he has to wait and see the US government’s tax policies and investment incentives, such as cheaper land and electricity rates.
In addition to the planned investment, Gou said the company plans to build a new molding plant in the US, possibly in Pennsylvania.
Gou said he had discussions with Pennsylvania state officials, adding that a representative from the state’s trade office attended Sunday’s party.
“Pennsylvania has been very active... I urge other states to act more quickly or I will sign a contract with Pennsylvania,” Gou said.
Gou said a Hon Hai-controlled interactive display start-up called Smart Technologies might move its headquarters from Canada to the US, as Trump has expressed his intention to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
‘ROUTINE QUESTION’
When asked if Beijing has pressured Hon Hai regarding its investment plans in the US, Gou said: “China has never pressured us or has been concerned about it.”
Local governments in China asked if Hon Hai has plans to increase investments in that nation this year, which is a routine question they ask at the end of every year, Gou said.
Hon Hai’s combined revenue fell 2.81 percent annually to NT$4.35 trillion (US$138.4 billion) last year, which was its first annual decline since the company’s listing on the stock market in 1991, according to the firm’s filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
In an opening speech at Sunday’s party, Gou apologized to employees and investors, saying that he took full responsibility for the company’s first-ever decline in revenue.
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