TAIPEI (China Post/ANN) — Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. will invest in the southern municipal city of Kaohsiung to build a smart factory, the city government confirmed on May 27.
Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn, will purchase four hectares of land at the city’s Hofa Industrial Park to build a plant for the production of servers and related products, according to the city.
CNA reported that the company on May 24 put a security deposit equal to 3 percent of the price of the land into a special bank account designated by the park, the city’s Urban Development Bureau said in a statement.
Hon Hai’s selection and purchase of the land just two months after it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kaohsiung on investment cooperation reflected the city’s success in attracting investment, the bureau said.
According to bureau figures, a total of NT$50 billion (US$1.59 billion) was invested in Kaohsiung from January to April to buy land and expand production lines, creating 4,300 jobs in the process.
With a growing number of overseas Taiwanese businesses thinking of returning to invest in Taiwan amid growing trade friction between the United States and China, the bureau pitched Kaohsiung as an attractive option given its good geographic location, climate, and excellent living environment.
The city will set up an investment hotline and a center to provide dedicated services to potential investors to make a transition to Kaohsiung easier for them, it said.
By Wang Shwu-fen and Evelyn Kao
