The newly appointed chief executive officer of Vedanta Resources Ltd’s untried display business is seeking to hire global talent to build and run a US$4 billion factory in western India.
Y.J. Chen (陳猷仁), who previously worked at Chinese display maker HKC Corp (惠科), said the display venture would soon begin recruiting from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and other regions to set up an LCD panel plant in India.
The factory would create as many as 3,500 direct jobs, he said.
Photo: Reuters
“We need a lot of technicians, very talented people,” Chen, who has 23 years of experience in the display industry, said in an interview in Mumbai, India. “That’s the biggest challenge — people.”
Even as it is suffering from a heavy debt load, billionaire Anil Agarwal’s metals and mining conglomerate is expanding in electronics components to take advantage of India’s push to become a technology manufacturing hub. The display business is separate from Vedanta’s struggling chip venture and might succeed more easily as it is a less technically demanding undertaking.
Vedanta, which has partnered with Taiwan’s Innolux Corp (群創) for the display business, plans to manufacture glass and assemble LCD panels at its new factory.
The unit could start production in late 2025 if it gets crucial funding from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, Chen said.
Modi has pledged US$10 billion to woo chip and display makers to India, promising his administration would bear half the cost of setting up all semiconductor and display fabrication sites.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), parent company of Innolux, has set up a joint venture with Vedanta Ltd to build a semiconductor plant in Gujarat state, it said.
While Vedanta’s chip plans have yet to get government backing, its display business could find it easier to win state incentives with key tech partnerships in place. Vedanta also owns Japan-based AvanStrate Inc, which makes layers used in LCD panels.
Vedanta is seeking to grab a slice of India’s display market, which it expects to grow to an annual US$30 billion over the next seven years. It will have to compete with inexpensive Chinese LCDs and develop newer displays for long-term success.
“We need to build our own supply chain in India,” Chen said. “We will focus on new designs to lower costs and compete with the Chinese.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
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