The state of Gujarat in India is conducting negotiations with Foxconn at the semiconductor factory, a government official told Reuters, days after the Taiwanese giant pulled out of a deal with India. Vedanta.
“We are in touch with potential investors, including Foxconn…Gujarat has a unique opportunity to attract high-end chipmakers,” said Vijay Nehra, secretary of Gujarat’s science and technology department.
Foxconn this week abandoned its project with Vedanta, which was planned for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, citing slow progress.
The demise of the JV was a setback to Modi’s vision to establish India as a semiconductor manufacturing hub. However, Foxconn said it would later apply for Indian chip incentives on its own and look for new partners.
Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters is the first to report his talks with Gujarat.
Modi wants to make chip manufacturing a priority to demand a “new era” in electronics manufacturing, but his plan has failed.
Three companies applied for incentives last year – Vedanta-Foxconn JV, Singapore-based IGSS Ventures and global consortium ISMC, which counts Tower Semiconductor as a technology partner – but so far no agreement has been sealed.
Explaining the division of Vedanta on Tuesday, Foxconn said that “there was a realization from both sides that the project was not moving fast” and there were “difficult opportunities that we could not successfully overcome”, without giving more details.
V. Lee, representative of Foxconn in India, wrote on LinkedIn: “Sometimes, you fly higher when you are alone.”
Its talks with Gujarat come weeks after Micron Technology said it would invest $825 million (about Rs. 6,800 crore) in a semiconductor testing and packaging facility in the state.
© Thomson Reuters 2023