Made in India chips from June 2007

CHENNAI: SemIndia, a consortium with investments from strategic partners, will roll out its first batch of chips by June 2007 from its Hyderabad facility and has already procured orders to the tune of $400 million.

The consortium is setting up the first phase of the project, an ATMP (assembly, testing, mark and packaging) plant with an estimated investment of $100 million, which would be funded through $30 million equity and $70 million debts.

Talking to CyberMedia News in Chennai, Bob Kondamoori, managing director of Sandalwood Partners, an India-specific venture fund, said that while Flextronics and Sandalwood Partners, an India specific venture fund, is taking $10 million each in equity and the promoters would fund the remaining $10 million.

“For the debt portion of 70 per cent the company had tied-up with ICICI Bank and the State Bank of India,” he informed.

“Andhra Pradesh government has already allotted 75 acres for the company,” he said adding that the building construction would be completed by March 2007.

Kondamoori said, “The major order is from AMD and we have already worked out on the technology transfer for the wafer fab to be set-up in the second phase,” he said.

“The company is awaiting the Union government’s semiconductor policy, which is likely to be announced by November, to implement the second phase,” he added.

The company plans to employ about 1000 people in the first phase, and most of them would be diploma holders.

© CyberMedia News