This story is from September 24, 2020

Apple supplier eyes south for India entry

A battle is on between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to woo Apple’s second largest contract manufacturer Pegatron to set up a manufacturing facility, and recent developments suggest Tamil Nadu may have an edge.
Apple supplier eyes south for India entry
TN’s high-skilled manpower and existing ecosystem for electronics manufacturing has made it a front-runner.
CHENNAI: A battle is on between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to woo Apple’s second largest contract manufacturer Pegatron to set up a manufacturing facility, and recent developments suggest Tamil Nadu may have an edge.
Two industry sources TOI spoke to said the Taiwanese electronics giant is currently scouting for locations to set up its first manufacturing facility in India, though no decision has been taken yet.
TN’s high-skilled manpower and existing ecosystem for electronics manufacturing has made it a front-runner.
“The loss of Wistron (another Apple phone supplier) to Karnataka was a big blow to Tamil Nadu and the state has made all efforts to roll out a red carpet to Pegatron. The recently released electronics policy, which offers attractive sops to large industries, is also likely to interest Pegatron,” one of the sources said. Wistron is currently in the process of setting up a facility at Narasapura in Kolar district of Karnataka.
As the first step into its India entry, Pegatron incorporated its subsidiary Pegatron Technology India Private Limited in July 2020, as per Registrar of Companies (ROC) filings seen by TOI.
The filings mention the company’s registered office to be on Harrington Road in Chennai, and Chui Tan Lin and Akhilesh Bansal have been appointed as first directors.
A spokesperson for Pegatron said they have registered their India subsidiary in Chennai, and are currently looking for potential manufacturing locations and are in discussions with multiple state governments. “We haven’t made final decisions yet,” the spokesperson said.

Tan Lin, the deputy COO of Pegatron Corp, is also designated as MD of India operations as per the Articles of Association filed by the company.
Pegatron is also among global manufacturers who have applied to the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, as part of the country’s national Electronics Policy. Foxconn and Wistron have also applied for the scheme.
TN’s industries secretary N Muruganandam told TOI that the state is in talks with various companies including Pegatron and it was “too early” to comment on the status of the talks. The presence of other large electronic manufacturing giants in Sriperumbudur, skilled manpower including a large women workforce and good connectivity for exports makes the state a hub for electronics makers, he said. Apple already makes iPhones in TN through its manufacturing partner Foxconn.
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