Vedanta-Foxconn talks with Karnataka on setting up chip unit stuck over sops

The Vedanta-Foxconn JV is also said to be in talks with Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to see if they can offer a better deal than Karnataka, official sources said.

Confirming the same, a spokesperson for the Vedanta Group said several states had evinced interest in having the JV set up semiconductor fabrication units.

“We are in discussions with them, including Karnataka, as part of a transparent process to arrive at a viable win-win proposition for all the stakeholders in the fabs…,” the spokesperson added.

Foxconn Technology Group did not respond to ET’s email. Karnataka government officials declined to comment on the talks.

Vedanta-Foxconn’s interest in Karnataka coincides with international semiconductor consortium ISMC announcing a $3 billion investment in a chip-making plant on May 1.

The consortium has signed up to build a 65-nanometre analogue semiconductor fabrication plant in Mysuru, giving the southern state a head start in cornering investments under the Union government’s $10-billion incentive scheme for semiconductors.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai told ET recently that the state provides the most conducive ecosystem needed for cutting-edge technology companies as tax-breaks and incentives alone cannot attract investments.

ISMC’s unit will be the first and largest semiconductor fabrication unit in the country under the Indian Semiconductor Mission project.

Experts believe the first state to land the semiconductor ecosystem will benefit in the long run. One of the reasons why ISMC zeroed in on Mysuru is the availability of water, a critical component in manufacturing semiconductor chips.

Under Karnataka’s Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) scheme, the state promotes investments at electronic manufacturing clusters (EMCs) with a capital subsidy of 25% on land and 20% on plant and machinery, apart from a 1% production-linked incentive (PLI) and other sops, including waiver of electricity duty and concessional power tariff.

These incentives and concessions are over and above what the Union government offers.

If an investor proposes a big-ticket investment that is strategic and seeks amendments within the state’s policy, then such proposals go before the Cabinet, as with the ISMC deal.

Besides ISMC, which is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based NextOrbitVentures and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, and Vedanta-Foxconn, Singapore-based IGSS is also pursuing plans to set up semiconductor and display units in India.

Karnataka is leading the march in the semiconductor mission that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched, Bommai said earlier. The partnership with ISMC, he had said, would make Karnataka the frontrunner in semiconductor manufacturing.

The Vedanta-Foxconn JV is also said to be in talks with Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana to see if they can offer a better deal than Karnataka, official sources said.

Confirming the same, a spokesperson for the Vedanta Group said several states had evinced interest in having the JV set up semiconductor fabrication units.

“We are in discussions with them, including Karnataka, as part of a transparent process to arrive at a viable win-win proposition for all the stakeholders in the fabs…,” the spokesperson added.

Foxconn Technology Group did not respond to ET’s email. Karnataka government officials declined to comment on the talks.

Vedanta-Foxconn’s interest in Karnataka coincides with international semiconductor consortium ISMC announcing a $3 billion investment in a chip-making plant on May 1.

The consortium has signed up to build a 65-nanometre analogue semiconductor fabrication plant in Mysuru, giving the southern state a head start in cornering investments under the Union government’s $10-billion incentive scheme for semiconductors.

Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai told ET recently that the state provides the most conducive ecosystem needed for cutting-edge technology companies as tax-breaks and incentives alone cannot attract investments.

ISMC’s unit will be the first and largest semiconductor fabrication unit in the country under the Indian Semiconductor Mission project.

Experts believe the first state to land the semiconductor ecosystem will benefit in the long run. One of the reasons why ISMC zeroed in on Mysuru is the availability of water, a critical component in manufacturing semiconductor chips.

Under Karnataka’s Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) scheme, the state promotes investments at electronic manufacturing clusters (EMCs) with a capital subsidy of 25% on land and 20% on plant and machinery, apart from a 1% production-linked incentive (PLI) and other sops, including waiver of electricity duty and concessional power tariff.

These incentives and concessions are over and above what the Union government offers.

If an investor proposes a big-ticket investment that is strategic and seeks amendments within the state’s policy, then such proposals go before the Cabinet, as with the ISMC deal.

Besides ISMC, which is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based NextOrbitVentures and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, and Vedanta-Foxconn, Singapore-based IGSS is also pursuing plans to set up semiconductor and display units in India.

Karnataka is leading the march in the semiconductor mission that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched, Bommai said earlier. The partnership with ISMC, he had said, would make Karnataka the frontrunner in semiconductor manufacturing.

Source-https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/electronics/vedanta-foxconn-talks-with-karnataka-on-setting-up-chip-unit-stuck-over-sops/articleshow/91634716.cms


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