TOKYO -- Foxconn could soon be entering the semiconductor manufacturing business in a big way.

The company, the world's largest EMS/ODM, is reportedly in the final stages of talks with Zhuhai government officials to build a chip manufacturing plant there.

Work on the new site could begin by 2020 and would cost up to $9 billion, according to the Nikkei Asian Review, which broke the news. Most of the costs would be underwritten by the Chinese government, a move that could spark additional claims of unfair trade practices between China and its competitors, primarily the US. 

The project would be a joint venture between Foxconn and its OEM subsidiary Sharp, Nikkei reported. Sharp built chips for years before exiting the business amid financial trouble in 2010.

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