New Delhi: The decision of Foxconn to pull out from the $19.5 billion semiconductor joint venture with Vedanta will have no impact on India semiconductor goals and both the companies remain committed to the country’s flagship Make In India programme, top government ministers said Monday.
In December 2021, the Union Cabinet had approved the Semicon India Programme with an outlay of Rs 76,000 crore to ensure development of a robust and sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country.
Under the programme, Vedanta Semiconductors Ltd., a Joint Venture between Vedanta and Foxconn, had submitted applications for Semiconductor Fabs, and had decided on Dholera Industrial City, Gujarat, as the final location for their proposal.
“Both the companies Foxconn and Vedanta are committed to India’s semiconductor mission and Make in India program,” Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a tweet reacting to the news.
Both the companies Foxconn and Vedanta are committed to India’s semiconductor mission and Make in India program.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) July 10, 2023
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar added that “this decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV wth Vedanta has no impact on India’s #Semiconductor Fab goals. None”.
➡️This decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV wth Vedanta has no impact on India's #Semiconductor Fab goals. None.
➡️Both Foxconn n Vedanta have significant investments in India and are valued investors who are creating jobs n growth.
➡️It was well known that both… https://t.co/0DQrwXeCIr
— Rajeev Chandrasekhar 🇮🇳 (@Rajeev_GoI) July 10, 2023
“For over a year Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) and Vedanta have worked hard to bring a great semiconductor idea to reality. It has been a fruitful experience that can position both companies strongly going forward,” Foxconn said in a statement Monday. “In order to explore more diverse development opportunities, according to mutual agreement, Foxconn has determined it will not move forward on the joint venture with Vedanta.”
The Taiwanese tech giant said that it is working to remove the Foxconn name from what now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta. Foxconn has no connection to the entity and efforts to keep its original name will cause confusion for future stakeholders, it added.
Separately, a Vedanta spokesperson reiterated that the company is “fully committed to its semiconductor fab project and we have lined up other partners to set up India’s first foundry”.
“We will continue to grow our Semiconductor team, and we have the license for production-grade technology for 40 nm from a prominent Integrated Device Manufacturer (IDM). We will shortly acquire a license for production-grade 28 nm as well. Vedanta has redoubled its efforts to fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision for semiconductors and India remains pivotal in repositioning global semiconductor supply chains,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Chandrasekhar said that both Foxconn and Vedanta have significant investments in India and are valued investors who are creating jobs and growth.
“It was well known that both companies had no prior semicon experience or Technology and were expected to source Fab tech from a Tech partner,” he said, adding that while their JV VFSL originally submitted a proposal for 28nm fab, they could not source an appropriate technology partner for that proposal.
“Vedanta thru VFSL has recently submitted a 40nm fab proposal backed by Tech licensing agreement from a Global Semicon major – which is currently being evaluated by @Semicon_India Tech Advisory group,” he tweeted.
The minister added that it is not for the government “to get into why or how two private companies choose to partner or choose not to, but in simple terms it means both companies can & will now pursue their strategies in India independently, and with appropriate technology partners in Semicon n Electronics”.
He said that India’s strategy of catalysing the Semiconductor Ecosystem has seen rapid progress in the 18 months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved India’s Semicon strategy and policy.
“To those editorializing abt this decision of Foxconn/Vedanta being a ‘blow’ to India’s Semicon ambition , I can only say it’s a bad idea to bet against India under PM Modi…India is just getting started…,” Chandrasekhar added.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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