From Reuters: China’s recent lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19 have made iPhone assembler Pegatron “emphasize” its expansion in other countries, a senior executive at the Taiwanese firm said on Wednesday.
In April, the Taiwan-based company suspended operations at its Shanghai and Kunshan plants in China due to strict COVID-19 protocols, impacting production and deliveries. China has since lifted those restrictions, but the company is still facing labour shortages, exacerbated by COVID restrictions in China. This means Pegatron will ”emphasize” its expansion plans elsewhere, President Liao Syh-jang told an annual shareholder meeting in Taipei.
In May 2019, the company signed a letter of intent stating it intends to invest 10-15 trillion rupiah (approximately US$695 million to $1 billion) in an Indonesian factory to assemble “chips for Apple smartphones,” In November 2020, the board of Pegatron, Apple’s second largest contract manufacturer, approved an initial investment of approximately US $150 million (Rs 1100 crore) for building manufacturing facilities in India. Last year the company leased half a million square feet of space near Chennai, on the Bay of Bengal in eastern India.
