VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The Brazilian iPhone was meant to mark a new era. When Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group agreed in April 2011 to make Apple products here, President Dilma Rousseff and her advisers promised that up to $12 billion in investments over six years would transform the Brazilian technology sector, putting it on the cutting edge of touch screen development. A new supply chain would be created, generating high-quality jobs and bringing down prices of the coveted gadgets.

Apple Inc plans to introduce a trade-in program for iPhones in China in association with the Foxconn Technology Group, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the effort.

Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, will cut its massive workforce, the company told Reuters, as the Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier faces declining revenue growth and rising wages in China.

Ever since a civil war split the two sides more than 60 years ago, China has viewed Taiwan as a renegade province that needs to be absorbed into the mainland. To that end, the legion of Taiwanese businessmen working in China is a beachhead.

Apple Inc supplier Foxconn Technology Group will buy a stake in Taiwanese mobile telecoms operator Asia Pacific Telecom for T$11.6 billion ($390 million) in a deal that would expand its presence in Taiwan's fledgling 4G telecoms market.

iPhone maker Foxconn Technology Group said it plans to invest USD40 million in Pennsylvania for the development of robotics and a high-tech manufacturing facility for telecom and internet equipment.

Erajaya Swasembada and Foxconn Technology Group are said to be discussing a deal of partnership for the Indonesian market.