Vedanta to invest Rs.60 K crore into manufacturing Semiconductors

Days after the government announced a mega incentive package to bring in semiconductor investments into the country , Vedanta Group led by billionaire Anil Agarwal has said that it will invest up to Rs 60,000 crore to set up a sophisticated chip and glass manufacturing ecosystem in India over the next three years.

Just two weeks after the Narendra Modi government approved Rs 76,000 crore incentive scheme for semiconductors, industry giant Vedanta has announced that it will invest up to Rs 60,000 crore to set up a sophisticated chip and glass manufacturing ecosystem in India over the next three years.

Vedanta Group has already laid the framework for the plant. In December 2017, Vedanta had acquired a Japanese glass substrate manufacturer named AvanStrate from the Carlyle Group, which may give the company a headstart.

Talking about the new developments, Akarsh Hebbar, managing director of AvanStrate told, “We are in the last stages of negotiations with various state governments for setting up a factory that would require between 250 acres and 400 acres. Overall investments into the project will range between $6 billion (Rs 45,000 crore) and $8 billion (Rs 60,000 crore) in the first two phases, following which we will carry out further assessment of the market for expansion,”

Vedanta, looking to set up its camp, is currently in discussions with governments in Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The company believes that it could forge joint partnership with state governments, with the latter providing some incentives.

The investments will likely be for big amenities for show glass and fabrication chips, other than an LCD module plant, Hebbar mentioned, and added that the corporate is in talks with prime world semiconductor producers similar to Taiwanese makers TSMC, United Microelectronics Corp and Foxconn, Korean LG and Samsung, and Japanese Sharp.

The talks may lead to know-how partnerships, or mixed fairness investments by way of a three way partnership. “We intend to finalise our plans over the next couple of months.” Hebbar mentioned the Vedanta Group and its chairman Agarwal are bullish on the prospects of the semiconductor trade in India, particularly in view of robust demand from the buyer electronics phase, vehicle trade and allied sectors.