by BLOOMBERG

HONG KONG • Foxconn Industrial Internet Co, is seeking to use proceeds from an initial public offering (IPO) in China to bankroll 27.3 billion yuan (RM17.2 billion) investment in next generation projects.

A unit of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the Taiwanese manufacturing giant responsible for making Apple iPhones and Amazon fire tablets, Foxconn Industrial is looking to fund eight new technology projects, the firm said in an application prospectus on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website.

Led by billionaire Terry Gou, Hon Hai is moving into sectors beyond pure electronics assembly as growth in the global smartphone industry sputters. Floating Foxconn Industrial is one part of this strategy with proceeds to be used to support research into nextgeneration telecommunications and the Internet of Things. The firm is also building a US$10 billion (RM39.4 billion) display factory in the US that’s won endorsement from US President Donald Trump.

Foxconn Industrial had sales of 354.5 billion yuan in 2017, up from 272.7 billion yuan a year earlier, according to the prospectus. Net income climbed to 15.9 billion yuan from 14.4 billion.

Industrial Internet platforms, data centres, cloud computing, communications Internet and cloud service equipment, fifth-generation and IoT solutions, artificial intelligence manufacturing and intelligent manufacturing capacity expansion are among projects Foxconn Industrial intends to fund, the prospectus said.

Foxconn said it will support the projects with bank loans if share proceeds aren’t sufficient. — Bloomberg