BENGALURU: Anil Agarwal, chairman of the $30-billion Vedanta Resources, said India is carving a pathway towards self-sufficiency in semiconductors. The demand for semiconductors, he said, is expected to touch $100 billion over the next seven years.
“Semiconductor was built by developed countries. This time the government has moved very fast. The world doesn’t want India to progress this fast...The world doesn't want us (India) to produce. They always want India to be an import-based country. But we have a good leader in Modi,’’ Agarwal said at the inaugural day of the India Energy Week held in Bengaluru on Monday.
The pandemic affected the semiconductor supply chain and created a global shortage. India's semiconductor policy which the government announced a year back, has laid out a vision and specific incentives for research, design, and manufacturing of semiconductors.
Last year, Vedanta and Taiwanese semiconductor giant Foxconn announced its plan to invest in a $20-billion semiconductor and display glass facility in Gujarat. Agarwal said India will be the fifth country to manufacture semiconductors and display glass.
The company on Monday announced that former NXP Semiconductors executive David Reed will be CEO of its semiconductor business. Reed, who was EVP and GM of global operations & technology at NXP, will be responsible for setting up a state-of-the-art semiconductor fab unit and semiconductor assembling and testing unit. Reed had moved to NXP as part of the merger with Freescale Semiconductor, where he had served as senior VP for manufacturing operations.
Agarwal said the plant will be ready in two-and-a-half years, and it will initially produce 40,000 wafers a month. Four years ago, Vedanta acquired a controlling stake in Japanese glass substrate manufacturer AvanStrate from private equity firm Carlyle Group.
Agarwal said India's green metal consumption will grow five-fold. “We will be making green aluminium. We have made a part of it already.
We are looking at a nearly $3 billion investment into an integrated aluminium plant," he said. Vedanta Aluminium produced more than half of India’s aluminium at 2.2 million tonnes in the 2021-22 financial year. Last year, Vedanta launched its low carbon, green aluminium brand. It's the first major non-ferrous Indian metals producer to manufacture low carbon products (primary aluminium) for customers globally. It operates the world’s largest single-location aluminium plant at Jharsuguda in Odisha.
Asked if Vedanta is in talks with US hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management and public sector banks to refinance $2 billion of debt, Agarwal said, "We will make a prof it of $6 billion this year. Debt in the parent company is $13 billion and we will be making a profit of $9 billion next year. When you look at a $2 billion debt, it's nothing. It's the best balance sheet," he said.
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