Foxconn Photo: VCG

Foxconn Industrial Internet Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Foxconn which is trading on the Chinese mainland A-share market, plunged by its daily limit of 10 percent to 14.55 yuan ($1.99) per share on Monday, following reports of tax and land use investigations by mainland authorities.

Foxconn's shares, trading in Taiwan island, fell by 2.9 percent to NT$ 100.5 ($3.12) per share as of 1:30 pm on Monday.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has a total of eight listed companies in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and the Taiwan island, most of which saw their trading value drop sharply on Monday morning.

The Global Times reported on Sunday that mainland tax authorities have begun to probe Foxconn's tax compliance in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, among other provinces, in accordance with the law. And, the natural resources department in the mainland has also conducted on-site investigations into land use practices by Foxconn in Henan and Hubei provinces.

"Legal compliance everywhere we operate around the world is a fundamental principle of Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn). We will actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operation," the company said in a statement published on its website on Monday.

Foxconn did not reply to the Global Times' request for comment on Monday.

Founded by Terry Gou, Foxconn is a multinational electronics contract manufacturer whose clients include some of the world's biggest tech firms including Apple, Microsoft and Sony.

Foxconn started to invest in the mainland in 1988, and owns more than 40 manufacturing parks in the Chinese mainland, hiring about one million employees at its peak, according to an introduction on the company's website. 

In 2022, Foxconn posted revenue of around 1.49 trillion yuan, up 10 percent year-on-year. Last year, the company's imports accounted for 3 percent of the mainland's total import volume, while its exports accounted for 3.5 percent of the mainland's total export, it said.
Foxconn's Zhengzhou facility in Central China's Henan Province is the world'' largest iPhone assembly site. It accounts for about half of Foxconn's global shipments, according to media reports.

In recent years, Foxconn has ramped up overseas expansion. In August, the state of Karnataka in India said Foxconn will invest $600 million in two projects in the state to make casing components for iPhones and chip-making equipment.

Earlier in 2022, Foxconn announced a partnership with Indian conglomerate Vedanta to make semiconductors in India in a bid to diversify its business. However, Foxconn said in July 2023, it has withdrawn from a joint venture with Vedanta.

At a press conference in April, Luo Tianshu, chief accountant of the State Taxation Administration, said that tax inspection departments nationwide investigated and punished 128,300 illegal taxpayers in accordance with law in 2022, recouping 195.5 billion yuan in tax losses.

Next, the authorities will closely monitor possible tax fraud through the use of falsified invoices and work together to enforce due punishment, Luo said, vowing to clamp down on illegal operation activities.

Global Times