Foxconn chief Terry Gou considering $7-bn investment in US

Foxconn CEO Terry Gou is considering investing $7 billion in a display producing plant in the US.

According to some, this was the result of Donald Trump's election, his 'America-first' inauguration speech.

However, certain forms of electronic manufacturing now depended upon the costs of capital, not labour, and the cost of capital is much the same these days while the geographic location is not as hugely important as it was.

Foxconn had earlier said it was conducting "preliminary discussions" with US officials about a potential investment but gave no details.

"I have discussed with my major clients about going to (the US) and they are also willing to invest, including Apple," Terry Gou told reporters in Taipei after the company's year-end party, AFP reported.

Foxconn is best-known for assembling products for international brands such as Apple and Sony.

"Pennsylvania is active and I urge other states to act more quickly or I will sign the contract with Pennsylvania," he said, adding that the investment could create 30,000-50,000 jobs.

Gou said the company's proposal to set up a display plant, which would be planned with its Sharp Corp unit, depended on many factors, such as investment conditions, that would need to be negotiated at the US state and federal levels.

According to Gou, Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, had been considering such a move for years but the issue came up when Masayoshi Son, head of Japan's SoftBank Group Corp, talked to Gou before meeting Trump in December.

Son himself is planning major investments in the US (Also See: Japanese tech billionaire Masayoshi Son to invest $50 bn in new startups in US).