Vedanta signs MoU with 20 Korean firms, to set up electronics manufacturing hub in India

Vedanta Group is partnering with 20 South Korean firms in the display glass industry to develop an electronics manufacturing hub in India.

On Monday, Vedanta announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the South Korean firms at the Korea Biz-Trade Show 2023 event organized by the South Korean government’s trade promotion arm.

The Indian firm, which is also setting up a semiconductor plant in Gujarat in a joint venture (JV) with Foxconn, also announced that more than 50 companies are seeking partnerships with them.

“More than 50 companies have shown their interest in partnering with us and we are pleased to announce that we have signed MoUs with 20 Korean companies engaged in the electronics manufacturing value chain,” said Akarsh Hebbar, global managing director of Vedanta’s semiconductor and display business.

Hebbar also invited more companies to partner with them for the electronics manufacturing hub, which can accomodate more than 150 companies and can generate more than 100 thousand direct and indirect jobs in the future. 

Vedanta’s greenfield display fab will be part of the proposed electronics hub, added Hebbar.

Last December, Vedanta signed a MoU with 30 Japanese firms during a roadshow in Japan, which was attended by delegates from 100 companies.

Vedanta’s display manufacturing business is handled by its subsidiary Avanstrate Inc, which makes special glass used in LCD panels and has manufacturing operations in South Korea and Taiwan. The firm is also working on developing wafer glass, ultra-thin glass, and glasses for AR/VR.

India is positioning itself as an alternative to China for electronics manufacturing. It is also venturing into chip manufacturing. To be sure, India’s revenue share of the semiconductor component market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19% to $300 billion in 2026 from $119 billion in 2021, according to an August 2022 report by India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA) and Counterpoint Research.

In December 2021, the Indian government approved a Rs 76,000 crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to attract global semiconductor and display manufacturers to set up fabs and display manufacturing units in India.

In addition to Vedanta-Foxconn’s plans, International Semiconductor Consortium (ISMC), a joint venture between UAE’s Next Orbit Ventures and Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, are also working to set up fab in Karnataka.