Microsoft could enter into a deal with Foxconn to manufacture phones in India, as per the Economic Times. The Taiwanese contract manufacturer will start manufacturing smartphones locally for Microsoft in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh.
Foxconn will produce two variants of Microsoft smartphones in the country, said the report. Chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, Terry Gou recently visited India, stating that the company is planning to commit $2 billion to set up 10-12 factories across India in Maharashtra, Gujrat and Andhra. The report claims that a factory called Rising Store is being approached by a couple of smartphone OEMs, but Microsoft hasn’t officially approached Foxconn about the factory yet.
Last month it was announced that Foxconn will manufacture Xiaomi smartphones in Andhra Pradesh. The company is looking forward to hire a workforce of atleast 10,000 people, with an initial investment of about $2 billion (Rs 12,700 crore) over the next five years. A number of smartphone makers including Sony, Lenovo, LG, Motorola, HTC, Asus, Micromax have announced their plans to manufacture phones in India which is expected to become the second largest smartphone market in the world by 2017.