Vedanta will finalize a location for its $20 billion plants and semiconductors in India through mid-June and will have the first chip-ready product in two years, its chairman, Anil Agarwal, said on Wednesday.
Oil and metals conglomerate Vedanta said in February it would diversify into chip production and announced plans to form a joint venture with Taiwan’s Foxconn to push Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India a semiconductor production hub.
Vedanta has a total planned investment of $20 billion for two separate units of chips and production.
“Foxconn is our technical spouse. We would possibly not accept a spouse for the plant,” Agarwal told Reuters in an interview in Davos, adding that Apple’s contract maker will have technical responsibility for the operation, from generation supply to semiconductor manufacturing.
Vedanta is an incentive from the Modi government and is also in talks with several Indian states about the location of the unit.
Agarwal said on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum that the first of Vedanta’s allocations will result in a $2 billion investment.
Private equity must be part of the expansion of semiconductors in India and there is no shortage of funds, he said, adding that Vedanta has still had talks with personal equity companies.
India estimates that its semiconductor market will be $63 billion successful through 2026, up from $15 billion in 2020.
“You want to create another Taiwan in India,” Agarwal said, noting that India will want to focus on establishing the entire semiconductor ecosystem to make it a world power.
The Indian government said it would offer greater incentives beyond an initial $10 billion plan for those investing in semiconductor manufacturing as it targets a key player in the global chip source chain.