Foxconn Technology to Launch Indonesia Handset Operation in 2014

Jakarta Globe, Francezka Nangoy, October 7, 2013

Workers are seen inside a Foxconn factory in the township of Longhua in the
southern Guangdong province May 26, 2010. (Reuters Photo/Bobby Yip)

Nusa Dua. Taiwan electronics giant Foxconn Technology Group will conclude negotiations and establish a local subsidiary for its first Indonesian plant next year, the company announced on Monday.

The company, makers of Apple’s popular iPhone, first announced plans for an Indonesian factory in 2012. Foxconn then spent 18 months in negotiations with the Indonesian government and potential partners as it prepared to establish a local venture. Those negotiations are almost complete, Foxconn officials  told journalists at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Nusa Dua, Bali.

“In 2014 the company would have been registered and the negotiations will be done,” spokesman Simon Hsing said. “In 2014, you will see Foxconn coming.”

Chairman and CEO Terry Gou declined to name a local partner or specify the value of the project, saying only that the factory will be a “major investment,” in Indonesia and will likely include multiple domestic partners.

Erajaya Swasembada, a local handset distributor and manufacturer, has said it approached by Foxconn for a potential partnership. Djarum Group and property developer Agung Sedayu Group have also said they were in talks with the electronics company.

Foxconn declined to comment on the rumors.

“All I can say is that everyone is possible as long as they are qualified,” Hsing said.

The factory will use Indonesian-produced steel and tin and plans to make more than handsets, company officials said. It plans to establish a domestic supply chain for the products.

“We want to make sure that the infrastructure is here,” Gou said. “We came here not just to manufacture. We are making an entire supply chain in Indonesia.”

Gou and company said they planned to travel to Jakarta after the announcement.

“This is actually the reason I came [to APEC],” he said. “It is my first APEC [summit]. After APEC I will travel to Jakarta to meet our partners and also to talk to the government.”