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Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

reuters.com

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Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#181

Post by puranjay »

pankajdoharey wrote: post #23
harshalizee wrote: post #11

I wonder if this will be the start of an Exodus of manufacturing away from China. Corporations are constantly under scrutiny with their brand messaging and signaling with respect to various conflicts involving China, Hong Kong and the unrest within the United States. India on the other hand, is a Democratic republic, might help alleviate some issues. If India plays its cards right, they may pave the way for a manufac…

Manufacturing is not just about cheap skilled labour it is about resources aswell. India lacks both cheap "skilled" labour and mineral resources. They do have low and unskilled labour in high numbers though. Also India is just about as democratic as Putins Russia.

As critical as I have been of the current political regime in India, calling it "Putinesque democracy" is a gross exaggeration.

My state is a prime example - it's governed by a party that came into being barely half a decade ago and its first election victory was largely fuelled by grassroots activists and workers. It's about as democratic as it can get.

Even within the ruling party, democracy is quite active - the party presidents change every few years.

Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#182

Post by pythonwizz »

pankajdoharey wrote: post #20
kodablah wrote: post #12

> With India’s labour cheaper compared with China, and the gradual expansion of its supplier base here, Apple will be able to use the country as an export hub While there are negatives, I appreciate how globalization of manufacturing helps lift poorer economies (albeit it slowly and not always agreeing with the politics of the newly-built middle classes). One might expect manufacturing in mid-Africa in two decades.

Actually I think, the most ideal countries to expand manufacturing to are African countries, they have some of the same advantages once china had. 1. Mineral Resources. 2. Cheap Labour. 3. High Density of Lanthanide and Actinide group minerals. China also has a fourth advantage which is a good mix of Production, Manufacturing and Electronics Engineers. Which Africa doesn't have. On the other hand India doesn't have t…

"1. Mineral Resources."

This is the first time I heard this. Source that this is/was important? If it is, why not Brazil?

"2. Cheap Labour."

I am not sure that African countries are so much cheaper than India. Also, you need educated people too, something that is not available in Africa, at least not in quantities.

3. High Density of Lanthanide and Actinide group minerals.

Why is this necessary? Source?

China has:

1. Very educated people (most communist countries had the highest literacy rate)

2. A very supportive government

3. A huge market with the necessary infrastructure, starting from Universities, Airports, roads, trains...

4. Clustering of industries.

The phenomenon of China can not easily be repeated. It is nearly impossible in Africa:

1. Uneducated people

2. Tribal societies

3. Corrupt governments

4. Lack of infrastructure

Look at a map. If it is a "non-integrating gap country", it won't be the next China.

Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#183

Post by mac123z »

wozniacki wrote: post #162
jariel wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are not in the 'top 10' things required to support an electronics manufacturing base. Africa is the last place any electronics are going to be made, and it's completely unsuitable to their situation, at least currently. Manufacturing any kind of electronics any scale requires a fair bit of sophistication. There is a lot of know how in putting together lines, knowing what to optimise, managing supply chains. I j…

The Chinese invest in African (sic) for minerals etc. they bring in their own workers (why do they do this if African wages are lower?). This. There's a most excellent documentary on the inroads the Chinese have industrially made in Africa called Empire of Dust (2011)[1] thats eminently watchable.[2][3][4] Even going back a decade and more, the Chinese not only brought their own machinery, trucks, heavy and light equ…

Unemployment

Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#184

Post by Closi »

bruce511 wrote: post #137
jariel wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those are not in the 'top 10' things required to support an electronics manufacturing base. Africa is the last place any electronics are going to be made, and it's completely unsuitable to their situation, at least currently. Manufacturing any kind of electronics any scale requires a fair bit of sophistication. There is a lot of know how in putting together lines, knowing what to optimise, managing supply chains. I j…

Your comment seems to be unnecessarily sweeping - in the sense that Africa is not a single country, but a continent with more countries than there are US states. As such there is an enormous range to all of your points, which, with few exceptions, are sufficiently local to make your comment meaningless. It would be the same as sweeping generalisations about the USA that equated new York, ohio, texas and Montana as al…

Well to be fair he was replying to another sweeping comment.

Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#185

Post by hola1231 »

kodablah wrote: post #12

> With India’s labour cheaper compared with China, and the gradual expansion of its supplier base here, Apple will be able to use the country as an export hub While there are negatives, I appreciate how globalization of manufacturing helps lift poorer economies (albeit it slowly and not always agreeing with the politics of the newly-built middle classes). One might expect manufacturing in mid-Africa in two decades.

It would be amazing to see economies improve, but I am really worried about the wildlife and the environment of Africa if factories move there.

Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#188

Post by QuesnayJr »

h0l0cube wrote: post #167
em500 wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try to avoid fitting the data to your narrative. more hours worked = slavery less hours worked = underemployment Are there any measures at all that would convince you that the overall the world is better than it used to be?

> Try to avoid fitting the data to your narrative. I made a post above that addresses your plaint I believe. I'm not being disingenuous here, I'm trying to make sense of the data. Obviously hours worked (on average), is not separable from employment figures. > Are there any measures at all that would convince you that the overall the world is better than it used to be? I think it's troublesome to look at economic ind…

Subsistence wages are set by the value of the "outside option" for workers in undeveloped countries, which is subsistence farming. As a country develops, labor productivity increases and wages rise, until companies are willing to switch to lower productivity but cheaper workers. This cycle ends once the supply of subsistence wage workers runs out.

Re: Apple supplier Foxconn to invest $1B in India, sources say

#189

Post by h0l0cube »

h0l0cube wrote: post #167
em500 wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Try to avoid fitting the data to your narrative. more hours worked = slavery less hours worked = underemployment Are there any measures at all that would convince you that the overall the world is better than it used to be?

> Try to avoid fitting the data to your narrative. I made a post above that addresses your plaint I believe. I'm not being disingenuous here, I'm trying to make sense of the data. Obviously hours worked (on average), is not separable from employment figures. > Are there any measures at all that would convince you that the overall the world is better than it used to be? I think it's troublesome to look at economic ind…

> Subsistence wages are set by the value of the "outside option" for workers in undeveloped countries, which is subsistence farming. As a country develops, labor productivity increases and wages rise, until companies are willing to switch to lower productivity but cheaper workers. This cycle ends once the supply of subsistence wage workers runs out.

As I've said in my original post, this just means that labor force is now sourced from another country. Subsistence wages are just the minimum you can possibly pay someone, and I don't see how this will stop being a thing unless governments across the board make it so. Happy to be proven wrong about this.

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