Foxconn is in discussions with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC)
and Japan’s TMH Group for joint venture and technology partnerships to start semiconductor fabrication units in India, according to an ET report quoting people with knowledge of the development.
Earlier this week, Taiwan-based Foxconn ended its joint venture to manufacture semiconductors in India with India’s Vedanta Group.
Foxconn is in talks with TSMC and TMH for some time now and the details of the partnerships are likely to be finalised soon, according to the ET report.
While TSMC is among the world’s largest chip foundries, TMH provided semiconductor solutions as well as operation and maintenance of manufacturing equipment.
After the central government asked Vedanta and Foxconn to bring in tech expertise on board as they lacked chip manufacturing know-how, Foxconn was also in advanced talks with European company STMicro and GlobalFoundries of the US for a technology partnership.
In December 2021, the central government announced a $10-billion semiconductor incentive programme to provide a 50 per cent subsidy on capital expenditure to companies that set up chip manufacturing units in the country.
Why Did Foxconn and Vedanta Part Ways?
Foxconn recently said, “Both parties mutually agreed to part ways. This is not a negative. There was recognition from both sides that the project was not moving fast enough, there were challenging gaps we were not able to smoothly overcome, as well as external issues unrelated to the project.
We have seen some media reports portraying Foxconn’s withdrawal from the joint venture with Vedanta as a negative example of the Group’s investment integrity. That is absolutely not the case.”
It added that when Foxconn course corrects, it is done only after heavy consideration on the near-term impact on its stakeholders, and on the long-term corporate health of the Group and its shareholders.
“Building fabs from scratch in a new geography is a challenge, but Foxconn is committed to investing in India. We have been working on challenges like this since the 1980s. Foxconn has no intention to do anything but continue to strongly support the government’s ‘Make In India’ ambitions and establish a diversity of local partnerships that meet the needs of stakeholders,” Foxconn has said.
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