Foxconn in planning to invest as much as $12bn (£7.4bn) in Brazil, according to the country's president Dilma Rousseff.

巴西总统迪尔玛·罗赛夫透漏，富士康计划在巴西投资120美元建厂。

Foxconn has been looking to expand its operations in markets outside China
Taiwan-based Foxconn operates the majority of its factories in China, producing goods for firms like Apple, Hewlett Packard and Dell.

The electronics maker¹ has been looking to expand its operations beyond China, due to rising Chinese labour costs.

Foxconn is the biggest contract electronics manufacturer in the world.

Ms Rousseff said that her government was discussing various options with the company.

"You've got an ample（丰富的） range of investments that go from $300-to-$400m to $12bn over 5 to 6 years in the case of Foxconn," she said.

Meanwhile, Brazil's science and technology minister Aloizio Mercadante said if discussions and negotiations² go smoothly³, Foxconn is planning to begin assembling iPads at its plants in Brazil as early as this year.

"The negotiations are far from complete but I'm confident," he said.

Untapped potential

Brazil is one the fastest growing economies in the world, making it an attractive market for companies.

However, many firms have not been able to tap fully⁴ into this potential as high import tariffs⁵（关税） make their goods expensive.

Analysts⁶ say that if Foxconn's planned investment does go through, it will make it easier for its clients to penetrate⁷ the South American market.

"It makes a lot of sense," said Peter Misek of Jefferies & Co.

"If you're trying to serve Latin America, Brazil is certainly the biggest country you have to hit," he added.