Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor JV deal off! What now?

Foxconn has pulled itself back from the $19.5 billion joint venture with Vedanta. This has delivered a massive blow to India’s chip-making ambitions.

"Foxconn has determined it will not move forward on the joint venture with Vedanta," the company said in a statement, without elaborating on the reasons.

Foxconn added it had worked with Vedanta for more than a year to bring "a great semiconductor idea to reality." But, they had mutually decided to end the joint venture, and it will remove its name from what now is a fully-owned Vedanta entity.

In a separate statement, Vedanta reiterated that it is fully committed to its semiconductor fab project and we have lined up other partners to set up India’s first foundry. It added: "We will continue to grow our Semiconductor team, and we have the license for production-grade technology for 40nm from a prominent integrated device manufacturer (IDM). We will shortly acquire a license for production-grade 28nm as well. Vedanta has redoubled its efforts to fulfill the Prime Minister's vision for semiconductors and India remains pivotal in repositioning global semiconductor supply chains."

In a tweet, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and IT, said: "This decision of Foxconn to withdraw from its JV with Vedanta has no impact on India's semiconductor fab goals. None!"

Alright! This has been done! What now? Perhaps, Vedanta can explore with other companies, if they haven't already done so. There are electronics manufacturers to look at! India can also try speaking with Samsung Semiconductors, Jabil, etc. Let's see how this is going to play out!