Foxconn denies rumours about 180 billion yuan tax payment after probe

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Foxconn is seen outside a company's building in Taipei

BEIJING (Reuters) - Foxconn on Thursday rejected online rumours that it needed to pay 180 billion yuan ($24.60 billion) in tax as part of recent investigations, saying the "false content" has seriously hurt its reputation.

The company said rumours circulated by multi-platform social media channels alleged that about 20,000 football fields it owns would be taken back by the Chinese government.

Foxconn said in a statement published on its official Weibo account that it had always adhered to legal and compliant operations and that its production and operations remained operating normally.

On Oct. 22, Chinese state media Global Times tabloid reported that some of Foxconn's key subsidiaries in China were the subject of tax audits and that China's natural resources department had conducted on-site investigations on land use by Foxconn enterprises in Henan and Hubei provinces and elsewhere.

Foxconn responded by issuing a statement without addressing the allegations.

($1 = 7.3173 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Ella Cao and Bernard Orr; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)