Foxconn sets up $2bn plant in China

BEIJING - Electronic giant Foxconn Friday announced the opening of its new manufacturing plant in southwest China with an investment of $2 billion.

The new plant in Chengdu, provincial capital of Sichuan, will produce mainly laptop computers, Xinhua reported.

Investment for the first phase stands at $299 million, with total investment due to reach $2 billion when the second and third stages of construction are complete, said Chuang Hong-Jen, a senior Foxconn executive.

The company was plagued by a string of suicides by its workers at a southern China unit earlier this year, prompting the management to raise workers’ salaries.

“Worker compensation and benefits will be similar to those in other plants, like Shenzhen, but the salary will be adjusted according to local prices,” Chuang told Xinhua.

Li Chuncheng, Communist Party chief in Chengdu, and Huang Xiaoxiang, vice governor of Sichuan, also attended the inauguration ceremony.

“The new plant is the first fruit of our cooperation. Setting up plants in western China shows Foxconn takes a long-term view of its development. This is important for Foxconn’s future business,” Huang said.

Foxconn, whose parent company is the Taiwan-based Hon Hai Group, makes computers, game consoles and mobile phones for multi-national firms including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Nokia.

In August, Foxconn opened a plant in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province. Besides Foxconn also has plants in the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi and Hubei.