Vedanta's display push: Mining giant inks MoU with 20 Korean companies from display glass industry

Mining giant the Vedanta Group has signed memoranda of understanding (MoU) with 20 Korean companies from the display glass industry in a bid to develop an electronics manufacturing hub in India. The agreement was signed during the Korea Biz-Trade Show 2023 event, where Vedanta presented its plans to venture into semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country. Vedanta has also applied for the government's semiconductor scheme and has formed a joint venture with Foxconn. However, the application has not yet received the go-ahead due to a lack of production-grade technology.

According to Akarsh K. Hebbar, Global Managing Director of Vedanta’s Semiconductor and Display business: "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. Along with the Indian Government, we showcased the immense investment opportunities that our country has to offer, supported by conducive policies, good talent, and a robust innovation ecosystem."

While pitching to business leaders from Korea’s electronics industry, Hebbar spoke about the scale and size of the proposed electronics ecosystem hub. He said that the hub had the potential to attract more than 150 companies and create upwards of 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. He said that Vedanta’s greenfield display fab would be one of the anchors for this proposed hub, and offered help to any company willing to explore India as an investment destination.

According to Vedanta, it aims to produce cheaper, quality, and innovative semiconductors and displays in the next two and a half years. Anil Agarwal, the group's promoter, had shared during the India Today Conclave 2023 that his company has signed MoUs with 100 Japanese companies, which will help him achieve this dream. He foresees over 700-800 companies associating with Vedanta.

In February 2022, Vedanta had applied for both semiconductor and display manufacturing in India, teaming up with Foxconn to apply for the Semiconductor Scheme and shortlisting Gujarat for setting up its semiconductor and display fab. The Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture had signed an agreement with the Gujarat government to invest Rs 1,54,000 crore to set up a semiconductor plant and had finalized Dholera Special Investment Region near Ahmedabad for setting up the factory. However, the partnership is still not able to close a deal with a production-grade technology partner, and the government is reportedly considering giving conditional clearance to the Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture semiconductor fab plant.

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