Wistron, an Apple production partner, is increasing its investment in manufacturing for the Indian market to expand the plants that produce iPhones for the Indian market to avoid international import issues.
A filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange reveals that Wistron has authorized its Indian subsidiary to spend 30 billion rupees ($340.62 million) to meet future demand for its services in the region and expand. Currently, the company’s Indian operations have a paid-up capital of 1,8 billion rupees, investing a significant increase in resources.
Digitimes reports that the company is increasing its investment to increase production capacity at its Narasapura plant, with the first phase of its expansion scheduled for completion in the first half of 2019.
Wistron’s operations in India include the assembly of the iPhone SE and iPhone 6S for the local market. The investment is expected to reduce the impact of various factors on production.
Apple continues to rely on imports for the majority of its purchases in India that are not already covered by Wistron’s supply. Apple is likely to be affected by a proposed tax on luxury goods, which is intended to discourage imports and could be mitigated by increasing production in the region.
Less urgent is the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and China, which may eventually result in a 10 percent price increase for the iPhone in the United States. There have been reports that the supply chain may shift some elements outside of China to avoid the additional levy, indicating the severity of the problem.
Wistron is rumored to be planning to move a portion of its PC, Internet of Things, medical, and cloud services businesses to India, so the investment may not be entirely focused on the iPhone.
Wistron is not the only Apple partner seeking to increase local production. Foxconn reportedly planned to invest $214 million in December to expand its plant in India to accommodate iPhone production.
DigiTimes has a poor track record of predicting Apple’s future product plans, but it is an accurate monitor of manufacturer capital expenditures.
