India’s dream of becoming a semiconductor major saw a big boost with the news that Apple partner and chip manufacturer Foxconn is going to work with steel major company Vedanta in the South Asian country.
Foxconn, a major Apple supplier, has expanded into areas including electric vehicles (EVs) and semiconductors in recent years. Both giants are teaming up to build a manufacturing plant for semiconductors in the country.
In a joint press release, Foxconn said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with oil-to-metals group Vedanta to make semiconductors, calling it "a significant boost to domestic manufacturing of electronics in India."
According to the MoU signed between the two companies, Vedanta will hold the majority of the equity in the joint venture, while Foxconn will be the minority shareholder. Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal will be the Chairman of the joint venture company, Foxconn said in the statement.
Discussions are currently ongoing with a few state governments to finalise the location of the plant.
The collaboration between Vedanta and Foxconn follows the India Government’s recent policy announcement for electronics manufacturing and production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for incentivising organisations to contribute towards the development of this sector. This will be the first joint venture in the electronics manufacturing space after the announcement of the policy.
According to sources, Foxconn would invest $118.7 million (roughly INR9 billion) to set up a joint venture company with Vedanta, which would be the majority shareholder of the new venture. Foxconn would hold 40% of the venture's shares, it added.
