Hyderabad : India gets 1st semiconductor fabrication unit

Finally ,India's first semiconductor unit is set to come up near my hometown ,hyderabad.Lots of indians ,especially from the IT sector,have been waiting for this news for a long long time.Every discussion on India's role in world IT eventually ends with the discussion about lack of hardware units in India and need for India to focus on hardware along with software.The fab unit could be the trigger ,esp considering that fab units require some decent level of infrastucture,something India was not known for.

The news:

"India gets 1st semiconductor fabrication unitThe Asian Age India Our Correspondent
Hyderabad: India's first semiconductor fabrication unit, estimated to cost $600 million, expects to finalise its financial and technology partner in the next 60 days, P. June Min, a South Korean, who is the principal promoter of the project, said on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters at the ground-breaking ceremony for the fabrication unit, which is to be set up by Nano-Tech Silicon India, Mr Min said the technology partner would be investing up to 20 per cent in NTSI's equity. Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy unveiled the foundation stone for the project, which is to be built in Shamshabad, a suburb of Hyderabad, which is also the site for the new international airport. Asked whether International Business Machines Corp. would be the technology partner, he said that "there is now a 50 per cent chance of that."

Dr Min said a leading bank in India had agreed to syndicate a $290 million debt financing for the project. While he did not dislcose the name of the bank, Dr Min had told this newspaper on January 7 that the State Bank of India had evinced interest in financing the debt portion.According to an NTSI press release, the equity component, of between $64 million-$72 million, and the debt portion of $116 million-$130 million, and a $150 million construction fund are expected to be tied up in the next two months.

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