Haier announces fresh manufacturing investment of Rs 800 crore in India to expand its AC production capacity

Chinese refrigerator and television manufacturer, Haier is making fresh manufacturing investment of Rs 800 crore in India to expand its air-conditioner production capacity with a new plant and start production of a key electronic component printed circuit board (PCB), Haier India president NS Satish said.

The wholly-owned Indian subsidiary is going to fund the investment from internal accruals and external commercial borrowings, thereby it will be able to bypass the stringent requirement of government’s Press Note 3 approval for Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI). The Press Note 3 norms mandates any FDI investment from an entity in a country which shares its land border with India such as China can only make the investment after government approval.

“We have received all necessary local permissions for this investment which is to prepare for the future, reduce dependence on imports and build a local component eco-system. The supply chain lead time will come down from 60-90 days to around 25 days,” said Satish.


Haier India undertook the ground breaking ceremony for the new investment in the presence of senior government officials on Sunday. It will invest Rs 700 crore for the new AC plan at its existing manufacturing site in Greater Noida which will be completed by next year. This plant will have a capacity for 2.5 million units per annum. At present, Haier has capacity for 1.5 million units of AC.

The PCB unit will be set up with Rs 100 crore investment which would start commercial production this October producing PCBs for air-conditioner, washing machine and refrigerator. “We would still have 50 acres available in Greater Noida which can be used for kitchen appliances or other components,” said Satish.

The company has just completed Rs 200 crore investment for injection moulding whereby it will now have the capability for in-house production of plastic components for household appliances. With this, Haier has already completed an investment of Rs 1600 crore in India.

ET has reported that Haier is planning to sell a stake in its Indian entity with multiple suitors placing non-binding bids. This is to overcome the Press Note 3 approval which has been tightened for Chinese companies and also localize the ownership of Indian operations. It will help Haier to fund its third plant for which it has already seen plots in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Apart from Greater Noida, Haier’s second plant is near Pune. Satish refused to comment on the stake sale plans.

Haier India achieved sales of Rs 8,900 crore in calendar 2024, growing 33% year-on-year, and targeting Rs 11,500 crore sales in calendar 2025.