Taiwan-headquartered Foxconn was tipped to invest as much as $1 billion in a facility in southern India over the next three years, as major customer Apple looks to reduce its footprint in China, Reuters reported.

A source told the news agency Apple is pushing Foxconn and other suppliers “to move part of the iPhone production out of China”.

Foxconn, reportedly the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, plans to create an additional 6,000 jobs at a plant in Tamil Nadu, Reuters stated. It started assembling iPhone XR models for the local market at the plant in October 2019.

Reuters suggested a connection between the investment and a plan outlined last month by Foxconn chairman Liu Young to increase its presence in India, as part of a broader move to diversify its production options during a trade war between the US and China.

In June 2019, Liu said the company was capable of shifting production of Apple’s iPhone line out of China should it become necessary due to the trade spat. At the time, he said 25 per cent of its production capacity was outside of China.

Foxconn already made sizeable investments in India to support Apple’s work.

It also makes smartphones for Xiaomi at a plant in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.