Taiwan-headquartered Foxconn reportedly detailed a plan to accelerate investment in India to diversify its manufacturing base due to a long-running trade war between the US and China.

At its AGM, chairman Liu Young (pictured, centre) said despite having to shut Indian operations due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, the country is a bright spot for development, Reuters reported. The executive stated Foxconn is pushing ahead with next steps in India and will share details in the coming months.

The company, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer with 16 production sites globally, invested heavily in India and Vietnam over the last two years though China still accounts for about 70 per cent of its sales.

It is Apple’s main manufacturing partner and analysts estimate the US vendor accounts for more than half of Foxconn’s revenue: the company currently produces some iPhone and Xiaomi handsets in India.

Nikkei Asian Review reported Liu as stating its production capacity in Vietnam is bigger than India, but noted Foxconn had invested a total of TWD11 billion ($373.2 million) in India during 2018 and 2019 compared with TWD6 billion in Vietnam.

Foxconn is also increasing investment in Taiwan, with a focus on electric vehicles, robotics and smart medical devices.

During an online forum earlier this month, Liu said he expects manufacturers to decentralise output following disruption to global supply chains caused by the pandemic, Taipei Times reported.