Appaji Reddem, Hyderabad
The Economic Times (Hyderabad edition)
Even as chip maker SemIndia has shelved its plan to set up $3-billion chip manufacturing facility due to the ongoing credit crunch, four other chip makers are on course to export their products, according to government officials.
Four firms — Solar Semiconductor, XL Telecom Energy, KSK Energy and TF Solar — will export their products from next month, said BP Acharya, chairman and managing director of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure (APIIC). The combined investment of these companies, housed in the Fab City, is over Rs 9,000 crore. Of this Solar Semiconductor is investing Rs 7,300 crore. The combined investment of the other three firms is over 1,800 crore.
APIIC had allotted land for the firms in the 150-acre Fab City on the outskirts of Hyderabad for setting up these units. Around 16 companies are investing in the Fab City. These firms have the machinery ready to manufacture solar photovoltaic cells and modules.
“The units of all the four companies have reached financial closure. Solar Semiconductor will start its exports from January and the other three will follow in the coming two months. By March, all the four will be up and running and exporting the products from Fab City,” said Acharya. Solar Semiconductor vice-president Ravi Surapaneni was unavailable for comment. Besides this, SemIndia, an integrated semi-conductor company, is set to start its assembly, testing, marking and packing (ATMP) facility in the second quarter of 2009.
But the company has shelved its proposed plan to set up $3-billion chip manufacturing facility due to lack of funds and technical expertise. Its ATMP facility, which was expected to come up by the end of 2008, is delayed by almost a year. SemIndia’s technological agreement with AMD expired late last year, making it tough for the company to enter into chip manufacturing.
Earlier Nanotech Silicon India, the first consortium to announce setting up a fab in the city, shelved its plan. Instead of an investment intensive fab, the consortium led by South Korean professional Jun Min decided to set up Rs 1,200 crore solar cell manufacturing facility in the city along with Jusung Engineering
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