Mukesh Ambani eyes semiconductor manufacturing, Reliance in talks with foreign chipmakers

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries plans to enter semiconductor manufacturing. With this, the increasing demand for semiconductors in the country can be met. This company involved in business ranging from energy to telecom is in talks with foreign chipmakers for technology partnership. Sources with knowledge of this said, “This is a plan and there is no time limit on it.” Sources said that Reliance has not decided whether it wants to invest in this sector or not. It is not known with which foreign companies Reliance is in talks. A request for comment sent to Reliance in this regard has not received a response. The Prime Minister’s Office and the IT Ministry also did not respond to requests for comment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said about two years ago that he wanted to make the country a hub of semiconductor manufacturing for the world. Recently Modi had told that an ecosystem is being prepared for the semiconductor industry in the country. Technology companies will be given 50 percent financial assistance for setting up semiconductor manufacturing units in the country. He said that India is becoming a hub for investment in the semiconductor sector. The world needs a reliable chip supply chain. There is no chip manufacturing plant in the country. However, Vedanta and Taiwan’s Foxconn have planned to set up semiconductor manufacturing plants. Sources, on the condition of anonymity, said that Reliance can get ease in its telecom and electronic devices business through semiconductor manufacturing. The company had postponed the launch of low-cost smartphones about two years ago due to chip shortage. The demand for semiconductors is also increasing in the country and abroad. The central government estimates that the country’s chip market will grow to about $ 80 billion by 2028. This market is currently worth around $23 billion. Arun Mampazhy, a former executive of US chipmaker GlobalFoundries, says that Reliance, with a market capitalization of about $ 200 billion, is among the companies best placed to enter the semiconductor industry in the country.