Vedanta chief says company has lined up partners for semiconductor venture

Foxconn withdrew from a Rs 1.6 lakh crore semiconductor joint venture with the metals-to-oil conglomerate earlier this week.

Less than 72 hours after parting ways with Foxconn, Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal reiterated his commitment to semiconductor manufacturing in India. Addressing shareholders during the 58th General Annual meeting, Agarwal said that Vedanta will begin a historic foray into semiconductor fab and display fab this year, subject to government approvals.

"The world has its eyes on India as the next factory of the world. Our country stands to be financial beneficiary of the 'China + 1' strategy," he said, adding that a huge opportunity lies in the electronics sector.

Sharing the company's plan for the semiconductor business, he said a huge opportunity lies in the electronics sector as India imports $100 billion worth of electronics every year, of which around $30 billion is on semiconductor and display glass.

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“This will open an entirely new avenue of rapid growth for the company in a sector that is strategic for the country," he said.

The $19.5 billion joint venture was previously expected to be the first of its kind in the country, backed by a $10 billion government-supported financial incentive scheme. Just last month, Vedanta resubmitted its application for setting up a 40 nanometre (nm) fabrication unit proposal to the India Semiconductor Mission, which according to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State of Electronics and IT, is under evaluation.

“We have lined up partners for our semiconductor venture. With these ventures, we will enable our youth to access affordable electronic devices that will help them fulfill their aspirations,” Agarwal added.

AvanStrate Inc, a Vedanta subsidiary and the fourth largest manufacturer of glass substrates in the world owns niche patented technology for the production of glass substrates and is one of the only four global companies to own this technology, Aggarwal added.

Earlier this month, Vedanta announced its ventures into the semiconductor and display glass sectors. In September last year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Gujarat government, marking Vedanta's foray into the display ecosystem in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

Agarwal said that Vedanta is well-positioned to seize the enormous opportunity for India in the natural resources sector. The company's portfolio includes seven key minerals vital to emerging technologies.

“We have demonstrated resilience and delivered impressive results in the last financial year,” Agarwal said. Outlining Vedanta’s growth strategy, Agarwal said that the company plans to invest Rs 14,000 crores in growth capex across its businesses this fiscal year.

The Group has invested over $35 billion in India, contributing to over 1.4% of the country’s GDP. "We are committed to make sizable investments across business verticals in the coming years,” he underscored.