Foxconn joins hands with HCL Group for chip testing plant

Foxconn inks deal with HCL Group: Taiwanese multinational company Foxconn is joining forces with HCL Group to establish a semiconductor assembly and testing facility in India.

The collaboration aims to set up an outsourced assembly and testing (OSAT) unit within the country. 

In a regulatory filing, Foxconn revealed that its Indian unit will hold a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture, with a $37.2 million investment, while HCL did not disclose its financial contribution.

An OSAT plant is crucial for packaging, assembling, and testing silicon wafers produced by foundries, transforming them into fully functional semiconductor chips. 

The joint venture intends to contribute to the development of an ecosystem and enhance supply chain resilience for the domestic industry, according to Foxconn's statement.

Details about the project's location were not disclosed in the announcement. 

Additionally, Foxconn is exploring the possibility of establishing a semiconductor fabrication plant in India, leveraging the government's $10 billion incentives to promote local chip manufacturing. This initiative comes after Foxconn's previous setbacks in its Indian semiconductor endeavours, marked by a high-profile separation from local conglomerate Vedanta on a $19.5 billion chipmaking joint venture last year.

(With Reuters Inputs)