- By Vaamanaa Sethi
- Fri, 27 Oct 2023 05:22 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Union minister of state for electronics and information technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Friday announced that Tata is poised to commence iPhone production in India, catering to both the domestic and international markets after acquiring Wistron's operations.
"Now within just two and a half years, Tata Companies will now start making iPhones from India for domestic and global markets from India. Congratulations to the Tata team for taking over Wistron operations," Rajeev Chandrasekhar wrote on X.
"Thank you Wistron for your contributions, and great going for Apple in building a global supply chain from India with Indian companies at its helm, the union minister also said.
Chandrasekhar further added, “The Ministry of Electronics & IT stands fully in support of the growth of Global Indian Electronics companies that will in turn support global Electronic brands that want to make India their trusted manufacturing & talent partner and to realize PMs goal of making India a global electronics power.”
The minister conveyed an announcement from Wistron Corp, stating that the company had held a Board of Directors Meeting on October 27. During this meeting, they granted approval for their subsidiaries, SMS InfoComm (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. and Wistron Hong Kong Limited, to engage in a Share Purchase Agreement with Tata Electronics Private Limited (TEPL).
This agreement encompasses the sale of Wistron Corp.'s complete indirect ownership in Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (India) Private Limited (WMMI) and is initially valued at around $125 million (equivalent to NTD3.89 billion).
Once all relevant agreements are confirmed and mutually signed by all involved parties, the transaction will advance to obtain the necessary approvals. Upon the completion of the transaction, Wistron will make the requisite announcements and submissions in accordance with the relevant regulatory mandates.
As reported by Bloomberg in July of this year, with information from insiders, Tata Group was in negotiations to purchase a manufacturing facility from an Apple Inc. supplier. This move is anticipated to support Apple in diversifying its product production away from China and enhancing its technological manufacturing footprint in India, particularly in the manufacturing of iPhones.
The Tata Group engages in a diverse range of enterprises, spanning from the sale of salt to the provision of technological services. Over recent years, the conglomerate has set forth on a path to venture into the domains of electronic manufacturing and e-commerce.
At present, the group manufactures iPhone chassis, serving as the metallic framework of the device, at its facility located in the state of Tamil Nadu. Furthermore, Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has articulated the group's ambitions to explore the realm of chip manufacturing.