New | Foxconn says it’s mulling a US$7 billion US plant for displays

Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, is considering setting up a display-making plant in the United States in an investment that would exceed US$7 billion, company chairman and chief executive Terry Gou said on Sunday.

The plans come after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to put “America First” in his inauguration speech on Friday, prompting Gou to warn about the rise of protectionism and a trend for politics to underpin economic development.

Foxconn’s proposal to build a display plant, which would be planned with its Sharp Corp unit, depends on many factors, such as investment conditions, that would have to be negotiated at the U.S. state and federal levels, Gou told reporters on the sidelines of a company event.

Gou said that Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, had been considering such a move for years but the issue came up when Foxconn business partner Masayoshi Son, head of Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, talked to Gou before a December meeting Son had with Trump.

As a result of the meeting, Son pledged a US$50 billion of investment in the United States and inadvertently disclosed information showing Foxconn’s logo and an unspecified additional US$7 billion investment. At the time, Foxconn issued a brief statement saying it was in preliminary discussions to expand its U.S. operations, without elaborating.

“Son is a good friend,” Gou said, adding that Son had asked for his views about investing in the United States.