Foxconn withdraws from India's semiconductor JV with Vedanta

Foxconn on Monday said it has decided to pull out of semiconductor joint venture with Indian conglomerate Vedanta, according to a statement.Foxconn said it is "working to remove the Foxconn name from what now is a fully-owned entity of Vedanta". "Foxconn has no connection to the entity and efforts to keep its original name will cause confusion for future stakeholders," Hon Hai Technology group (Foxconn) said. Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, and Vedanta signed a pact last year to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Gujarat. Foxconn said it had worked with Vedanta for more than a year to bring "a great semiconductor idea to reality", but they had mutually decided to end the joint venture and it will remove its name from what now is a fully-owned Vedanta entity. Foxconn is best known for assembling iPhones and other Apple (AAPL.O) products, but in recent years it has been expanding into chips to diversify its business.Vedanta did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

India, which expects its semiconductor market to be worth $63 billion by 2026, last year received three applications to set up plants under a $10 billion incentive scheme. These were from the Vedanta-Foxconn joint venture, a global consortium ISMC which counts Tower Semiconductor (TSEM.TA) as a tech partner and from Singapore-based IGSS Ventures.The $3 billion ISMC project has stalled too due to Tower being acquired by Intel, while another $3 billion plan by IGSS was also halted as the firm wanted to re-submit its application.