(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 17. India is poised to
approve a $3-billion investment by US semiconductor company Micron
to set up an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) unit
with at least four assembly lines, trend reports.
The Idaho-headquartered company will initially invest about $2.5
billion with more investments likely to be made over a five-year
period, sources said.
This will mark the first such approval of an OSAT unit - also
referred to as Assembly Testing Marking and Packaging (ATMP) unit -
by the central government which has unveiled a Rs 76,000 crore
package to kickstart semiconductor manufacturing in the
country.
“There have been several rounds of discussions between the board
of directors of Micron and government officials. The Micron board
has been asked for details of its planned investment, the capacity
it wants to create, and the government help it wants so that the
process can be expedited,” according to an official aware of the
details.
ATMP/OSAT units are an important link in the semiconductor
manufacturing chain as they perform the crucial tasks of testing
and packing silicon chips.
Typically, these units require up to $5 billion investment
compared to semiconductor fab units that involve investments in the
range of $10 billion to $15 billion. People aware of Micron's
proposal said that it was first submitted to the expert committee
tasked with reviewing projects under India Semiconductor Mission
(ISM) in March this year. The deadline to accept proposals in the
ATMP/ OSAT category ends in December 2024.
“The committee has really liked the proposal submitted by them
(Micron). There are some additional last-minute due diligence being
done right now. It is a rigorous process as a lot of public money
is involved. The proposal is under consideration and may be
approved soon,” a senior government official.
Micron India did not respond to queries seeking to know the
details of the proposed investment and whether the Indian
government had sought additional details for an expedited approval
from the company.
Micron, which was established in Idaho in the US in 1978, has
three offices in India - one in Bengaluru and two in Hyderabad. The
company's decision to diversify its supply chain into the country
could also likely be a result of the partial ban imposed on it by
China, sources said.
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