The Tata Group may forge a “key” partnership with Singapore to collaborate in the area of semiconductors, K Shanmugam, the country’s minister of home affairs and law, told reporters in Mumbai on Friday. Shanmugam met Tata Sons chairperson N Chandrasekaran during his day-long visit to the city along with minister for manpower and second minister for trade and industry Tan See Leng.
Referring to the discussions, the minister said: “They (Tatas) will, I think, choose Singapore as a key partner. We are a serious and reliable player in the international semiconductor industry…. We are a country that Tata has had a very deep and long history, with more than 50 years of being in Singapore…we did talk quite in detail (about partnering in semiconductors)…,” he added.
As part of a broad strategy to develop a domestic chip manufacturing ecosystem, the Tata Group is setting up an AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facility (Fab) in Dholera, Gujarat in partnership with Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC). This is in addition to a Rs 27,000 crore semiconductor assembly and testing unit in Assam.
Singapore constitutes about 20 per cent of the semiconductor equipment production globally and is home to 25 foundries.
Semiconductors was a big discussion point in Singapore when the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the country recently and it was also an important area talked about with other top Indian government officials this time, the minister said. “We see significant areas of partnership, where we can partner with India, Tata and also with others.” Earlier in the year, India and Singapore entered into a bilateral pact to partner in the field of semiconductors, an added pillar of bilateral cooperation.
On Friday, Shanmugam also spoke about possible partnership with various Indian entities for equipment needed to run the semiconductor foundries in Singapore, collaboration between the two countries in the areas of green energy and co-development of skills in education and setting up industrial parks.
Separately, commenting on the incoming Trump administration in the US, he said it might lead to greater bilateral and regional multilateral trading arrangements.
