TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foxconn Technology will invest US$1 billion (NT$29.48 billion) in a factory in south India where it is already producing iPhones for Apple, Reuters reported Saturday (July 11).

The news agency saw the move as an attempt by Apple to move production away from China in order to evade the impact of the trade war and the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The investment, to be completed over the course of three years, will be made in a factory in southeast India, 50 kilometers west of Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. The plant already assembles iPhone XRs, and the new expansion could lead to the creation of 6,000 jobs, though talks have not been finalized, Reuters said.

Other iPhone models now being made in China will be produced at the Sriperumbur factory, while a Foxconn plant in the state of Andhra Pradesh is assembling smartphones for other brands, including China’s Xiaomi.

Another Taiwanese company, Wistron Corporation, produces Apple devices at a factory in Bengaluru and is planning to open a second plant in India, according to the report.

Foxconn told Reuters it does not comment on customer-related issues. Apple has not responded to requests for comment.