Tata to make iPhones in India after buying Wistron business

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Tata Group is set to start assembling Apple iPhones in India after Wistron Corp approved the sale of its Indian manufacturing unit to the salt-to-software conglomerate, a minister said on Friday.

A Tata company will start making iPhones in India for domestic and global markets, Deputy Minister for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on social media platform X.

The Wistron board approved the sale of Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing India Private Limited to Tata Electronics Private Limited for an estimated $125 million, according to a statement from the Taiwan-based supplier shared by the minister.

Wistron did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Apple has been touting India as its next big growth driver as it looks to move some production away from China.

The tech giant began iPhone assembly in the country with Wistron in 2017, before expanding through contracts with firms including Foxconn, and Pegatron Corp.

In December 2020, the Wistron plant in Karnataka state's Narasapura was forced to shut for three months after workers destroyed property during protests over non-payment of wages, causing millions of dollars in losses.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil; Writing by Blassy Boben; Editing by Alexander Smith)