Hon Hai's branch will list on China's A-share market

The world's largest electronics contractor, Hon Hai Precision Industry, will issue renminbi ordinary shares via its subsidiary Foxconn Industrial Internet, and the subsidiary is seeking an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to an announcement from Hon Hai on Wednesday.

The Chinese mainland is a vast market and its industrial internet has developed splendidly. The move will bring huge opportunities to Hon Hai, and help it to keep local talents and share the Chinese mainland's development dividends, and the Chinese mainland's talents, funds and market will be conductive to Hon Hai to build its industrial internet ecosystem, the conglomerate said.

In January, Hon Hai will hold an extraordinary general meeting to vote on the IPO plan.

Hon Hai is eager to find new driver of growth, and abandon its label as only an original equipment manufacturer.

According to its latest financial report, the conglomerate's third quarter net profit was $696 million (4.5 billion yuan), falling 39 percent from the same period last year, its biggest decline in nine years.

As far back as 2012, Hon Hai launched its own television brand named Ruixia, but the brand was knocked out in a "war between Chinese television makers”, news website China.com.cn. reported.

In 2015, Hon Hai invested 14.5 billion yen (851 million yuan) for a 20 percent share of SBRH, a robot company controlled by Softbank.

Last year, Hon Hai acquired the mobile brand Nokia from Microsoft, and Japanese electronics brand Sharp.

This year, the conglomerate has attempted to buy Toshiba's flash memory business.

Moreover, the company has expanded its businesses to the e-commerce and payment industries.

In 2015, it teamed with Alibaba and Softbank to invest $500 million in Indian online retailer Snapdeal.