Foxconn and Vedanta to manufacture semiconductors in India under new JV

Taiwanese electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn and Indian conglomerate Vedanta have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture that will manufacture semiconductors in India.

Under the MoU, Vedanta will hold the majority in the JV, while Foxconn will be a minority shareholder. Vendanta chairman Anil Agarwal will also be the chairman of the new joint venture, the companies said.

“This first-of-its-kind joint venture between the two companies will support Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to create an ecosystem for semiconductor manufacturing in India,” the companies added.

The location for the new chip plant is still being finalised with a number of state governments in India, according to the companies.

At the end of last year, the Indian government announced a plan that will see the nation put ₹2,30,000 crore, around $30 billion, behind a plan to turn India into a semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse.

The government added it would be putting ₹55,392 crore, around $7.5 billion, behind its electronics manufacturing schemes, which include large scale electronics manufacturing, IT hardware, promotion activities, and electronics manufacturing clusters.  

Establishing a semiconductor facility comes during a time when electronic makers continue to struggle with the global chip shortage, which has been predicted to last up until early 2023.

Also in India, the union government has issued a ban on an additional 54 Chinese apps, including those owned by Tencent and Alibaba.

The enforcement was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT under section 69a of the Information Technology Act, as reported by Economic Times.

“The 54 apps have already been blocked from being accessed in India through the [Google] Play Store,” an official told ET.

“Many of the apps from the stable of Tencent and Alibaba, have changed hands to hide ownership. They are also being hosted out of countries like Hong Kong or Singapore, but the data was ultimately going to servers in Chinese destinations.”

This latest ban by the Indian government is in addition to the 59 Chinese apps that have been barred from the subcontinent since June 2020. Those affected apps included TikTok, Weibo, and WeChat.

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