Foxconn, Apple’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, shares dropped by three per cent on Monday after the Chinese tax officials launched a probe into the land used by the company.
Chinese state-sponsored media said some of Foxconn’s key subsidiaries in China were the subject of tax audits and that China’s natural resources department had also conducted on-site investigations on the land use of Foxconn enterprises in Henan and Hubei provinces and elsewhere.
The media report did not provide specific details of the tax or land use probes, which have not been officially announced by any Chinese government department.
While Foxconn said in a statement that legal compliance was a “fundamental principle” of its operations everywhere, and that it would “actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations”.
Foxconn operates its primary production facility in Zhengzhou, located in Henan province, the company maintains smaller production sites in both India and southern China.
Probe Ahead of Polls
Chinese probe into Foxconn properties comes three months ahead of Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
Terry Gou, Foxconn’s founder, stepped down as the company’s chief in 2019. He is currently running as an independent candidate in the upcoming polls in Taiwan
He alleged that the current regime, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan has pushed the island into to conflict with China due to its adversarial policies. He contends that only he, with his extensive business and personal connections in China and the United States, can ensure peace in Taiwan.
