5 reasons why Foxconn won’t make Apple iPhones in India for the next couple of years

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2) In fact, the whole of south Asia is a budget phone market and not really big enough for Apple to start its first production set up outside China. Apple’s demand from the whole of SAARC won’t add up.

3) Foxconn has already burnt its fingers in India with the shutdown of the Nokia Chennai plant. Now known as FIH India, the company is already stuck in litigation with laid off employees at its Sriperumbudur after the company shut shop in February 2015, without “following any of the mandatory procedures under the Industrial Disputes Act” according to its employees. It won’t be that easy starting new plants without settling old disputes.

4) Also, there is the question of what the advantage will come of making the iPhone in India. If the company goes ahead and does this it could gain around 11 per cent on duties. If Apple decides to transfer this benefit to buyers, it could make the phones about Rs 5,000 cheaper. Hardly worth it for either Apple or its kind of buyers.

5) It might make much better sense for Foxconn to start production for other brands, especially the Indian ones. That will make it viable for its India clients than setting up assembly lines of their own. And with the kind of numbers these players deal in, it will be a better deal for the Taiwanese ODM too.

With most Indian and Chinese brands thinking of taking benefit of the skewed duty structure to improve profits, it might make sense for Foxconn to set up some manufacturing as well as component plants in India. But to get Apple to agree to manufacturing their premium phones in India might be a bit of a stretch.

Read more: It’s economics: Why smartphone makers are taking the ‘Make in India’ call