The tax disputed Nokia plant in Chennai is back in the market for acquisition. According to government officials, Taiwanese contract electronic manufacturer Foxconn is behind the revival of the facility.
India and Finland have reached an accord on the tax dispute with Nokia under the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP), clearing the way for the sale of the company’s Chennai plant. This involves a payment of Rs 16 billion, an amount that Nokia has deposited with the government in March, reported Business Standard, citing sources. The English daily further informed thatTamil Nadu government officials said they were not aware of the development.
Foxconn has shown interest in reviving the Nokia plant. This revival also comes with the strong hope that Tamil Nadu is to witness more employment in the upcoming days. Electronic hardware manufacturing jobs is expected to get a major boost and the state government will support Foxconn’s efforts in revive the facility.
BS reported that Foxconn had submitted a preliminary proposal to revive the Nokia facility at Sriperumbudur, which was shut down in 2014. The incident made 15,000 direct employees lose their jobs at one go. While companies like HTC and Essar had shown interest in the facility earlier, they did not pursue the matter.
In a recent news it was informed that Foxconn has tied up with HMD Global, a Finnish company that currently manufactures Nokia brand of mobile phones. Various reports said Rising Star Mobile India, Foxconn’s India manufacturing arm, which has a facility close to Chennai in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, had bought production machinery from the Nokia plant for an undisclosed amount.
