Foxconn pulls out of $19.5bn semiconductor deal in India, minister says ‘won’t impact fab goals’

New DelhiEdited By: C KrishnasaiUpdated: Jul 10, 2023, 11:29 PM IST

In a statement on Monday, the company said it working to remove the Foxconn name from the joint venture which is now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta. Photograph:(Reuters)

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Last year, Vedanta and Foxconn signed an agreement to invest $19.5 billion to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state in a bid to help India become a major electronics hub

Taiwanese firm Foxconn on Monday said that it was pulling out of a joint venture deal with Indian conglomerate Vedanta to set up a semiconductor plant in western Gujarat state.

In a statement on Monday, the company said it is working to remove the Foxconn name from the joint venture which is now 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,” Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) said.

It said that for over a year, the Taiwanese company and Vedanta have been working hard to bring a great semiconductor idea to reality.

“It has been a fruitful experience that can position both companies strongly going forward.”

“In order to explore more diverse development opportunities, according to a mutual agreement, Foxconn has determined it will not move forward on the joint venture with Vedanta,” it said.

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The company further said that it “will continue to strongly support the government’s ‘Make In India’ ambitions and establish a diversity of local partnerships that meet the needs of stakeholders”.

While the development might impede India’s plans to become a semiconductor hub, India’s junior IT and electronics minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he was optimistic that Foxconn’s decision will have little to no impact on the country’s plans.

“This decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV with Vedanta has no impact on India’s semiconductor fab goals. None,” he tweeted.

➡️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

He said that both companies 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. While their JV VFSL had originally submitted a proposal for 28nm fab, they could not source an appropriate tech partner for that proposal (sic),” Chandrasekhar said.

Vedanta, on the other hand, said that it is “fully committed to its semiconductor fab project,” after Foxconn’s exit announcement.

“Vedanta reiterates that it is fully committed to its semiconductor fab project and we have lined up other partners to set up India’s first foundry,” it said in a statement.

“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.”