TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Foxconn said on Monday it had partnered with Indian conglomerate Vedanta to make semiconductors in the South Asian country, as the electronics giant looks to diversify its business amid a global chip shortage.
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and a major Apple supplier, has expanded into areas including electric vehicles (EVs) and semiconductors in recent years.
In a statement, 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.”
Foxconn said it would invest $118.7 million 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.
“This first-of-its-kind joint venture between the two companies will support Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to create an ecosystem for semiconductor manufacturing in India,” the statement said.
According to the MoU, Vedanta will hold the majority of the equity in the venture, while Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal will also serve as chair of the JV.
The Taiwan company has in recent years counted semiconductors among its core businesses and last year formed a partnership with Yageo to make semiconductor chips, following a global chip shortage that has rattled producers of goods from cars to electronics.
The company has also in recent years announced plans to become a major player in the global EV market, and has said it was in talks with “related foundries” on possible collaboration to make chips for EVs.
The collaboration between Vedanta and Foxconn is claimed to be the first joint venture in the electronics manufacturing space following the India government’s recent policy announcement for Electronics Manufacturing & PLI scheme to incentivize companies to contribute towards development of the sector.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee; Editing by David Holmes)
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