Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the world’s largest contract electronics maker, yesterday said that it was in talks with the US government over possible investments in the US.
In a statement, the assembler of iPhones and iPads for Apple Inc said that it is seeking investment opportunities in the US market and is evaluating the possibility of pouring capital into the nation in a bid to expand.
Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) outside Taiwan, expressed gratitude to the White House Office of American Innovation for its efforts to pave the way for the company’s negotiations with the US government over possible investments.
Photo: European Pressphoto Agency
The company has built a production site in China which employs about 1 million workers.
The White House Office of American Innovation, created by US President Donald Trump and led by his son-in-law Jared Kushner, aims to reform the federal government through private-sector solutions.
Hon Hai issued the statement after the company’s chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) was on Thursday spotted walking out of the White House by Washington Post reporter David Nakamura.
It was the first of Gou’s two visits to the White House in as many days.
On Friday, as he exited 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the second time, he told reporters that Hon Hai was planning to make a “capital-intensive investment” in the US market.
“We are planning a number of investments in America,” he said. “This project will include both capital-intensive and skilled labor-intensive and high-tech investment.”
When asked how much he plans to invest, Gou told Reuters that he wanted the White House to announce the figure.
“We’re still not final yet,” he said. “I think we will share with you in the summer, maybe a few weeks.”
Asked if he had met with Trump, Gou said: “I don’t want to say yes or no. After we select the location, the White House will make an announcement.”
Gou’s visits to the White House have drawn the attention of international media.
Reports said that Gou, accompanied by a delegation including Foxconn vice chairman Tai Jeng-wu (戴正吳), who is also president of Japan’s Sharp Corp, in which Hon Hai holds a two-thirds stake, visited the White House and met with Trump.
The Hon Hai statement did not specify whether the meeting took place.
In the statement, Hon Hai confirmed that it is planning to invest in the US market.
Hon Hai said it is surveying the US market and studying possible locations for its future investments.
Hon Hai said it would make a formal announcement after it completes discussions on US investments, finalizes a plan and secures approval from its board of directors and government authorities in Taiwan and the US.
In late January, Gou said that it was likely that Hon Hai would set up a flat-panel plant in the US.
He said that if its clients such as Apple are willing to join forces with Hon Hai for the investment, the investment could top US$7 billion.
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