Foxconn’s US$12bn iPad deal in doubtFrom 轉載自TAIPEI TIMES 台北時報 Oct. 1, 2011Foxconn’s US$12bn iPad deal in doubtReuters, SAO PAULO, BRAZILA much-hyped US$12 billion plan for Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group (富士康集團) — also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) in Taiwan — to produce iPads in Brazil is “in 找房子doubt” because of stagnant negotiations over tax breaks and Brazil’s own deep structural problems, such as a lack of skilled labor, government sources have said.The proposal to build Apple’s sleek tablet computers in Brazil was first announced in April by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff during an official visit to China. Senior officials 賣房子hailed the deal as a sign of growing economic ties with Asia and proof that Brazil was moving up the value-added manufacturing chain as its economy grows.Yet the idea for a “Brazilian iPad” prompted immediate skepticism in the country, where factories have struggled for years with high taxes, an overvalued currency and a lack of qualified 當鋪workers because of poor education and a tight labor market.The expected start date for production was first set for July, then delayed to November. Now, it is unclear whether the project will ever get off the ground, at least in the form that it was originally envisioned, the officials said on condition of anonymity.“The talks have been very 買屋網difficult and the project for a Brazilian iPad is in doubt,” one official said. “[Foxconn] is making crazy demands” for tax breaks and other special treatment, the official added.Several calls to a Foxconn representative in Brazil were not immediately returned.The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper reported on Thursday that funding for the Foxconn 術後面膜project from the BNDES state development bank — without which the initiative would likely collapse — was in danger of being withdrawn. A BNDES spokesperson said the bank had no comment.If the project does fall through, it could become symbolic of Brazil’s struggle to meet high — and perhaps unrealistic — growth expectations this year. After 租房子expanding 7.5 percent last year, the economy is now forecast to grow just 3.5 percent this year, which could put it last in the BRICS group of large emerging markets and near the bottom of Latin America.The issues holding back the iPad — high taxes, bad infrastructure and a shallow labor pool — are routinely cited by business leaders as the 借貸main obstacles to higher growth.There are still plenty of incentives for both parties to make concessions and cut a deal in coming months.Brazil’s consumer market, with 190 million people and a high rate of Internet use by developing-world standards, is considered under-served in the tablet market. One reason is the high cost of imports. Because 資產管理公司of tariffs and taxes, an iPad 2 with 16 gigabytes of memory currently retails for about US$900, nearly twice the US$500 list price in the US.Other foreign companies, including Motorola Mobility and Samsung Electronics, have expressed interest in efforts to produce tablets in Brazil. Positivo Informatica, Brazil’s biggest domestic computer maker, G2000launched its own tablet just last week.Yet none of the other initiatives to date have the cachet offered by Apple products or the same scale of investments.Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Aloizio Mercadante, the government’s point man in the Foxconn talks, said on Monday that the talks were difficult because of a wide range of issues —信用貸款 some of them on Brazil’s side.
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