The Indian media reports that a consortium of Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (Nasdaq: TSEM; TASE: TSEM), IBM Corporation (NYSE: IBM), and Jaypee Associates (BSE: 532532) is one of five international groups that expressed interest in supporting the Indian government's plans to build semiconductor fabs.
In its financial report for 2011, Tower announced that it had signed a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a leading Indian infrastructure conglomerate, to build and operate a 300mm facility in India to produce 300mm wafers with 90-nanometer analog technology and companion chips in 65-45 nanometer deep submicron technologies.
According to the Indian media, the other companies interested in the project are Infineon Technologies AG (DAX: IFX), STMicroelectronics NV (NYSE; Euronext; BIT: STM), Russia's JSC Sitronics (LSE: SITR), and GlobalFoundries Inc. Reports added that Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC) offered advisory support on semiconductor manufacture infrastructure and financial, but that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) (NYSE: TSM; TWSE: 2330), and Freescale Semiconductor Inc. (NYSE: FSL) had turned down offers to participate in the project.
Semiconductor fabrication is an essential requirement for promoting Indian manufacture of electronics. The government wants to have at least two semiconductor wafer fabs in the country, and has been scouting for companies that can offer technology and investment.
Industry sources estimate India's semiconductor market at $2 billion over the next 2-3 years, and could grow to tens of billions of dollars in the medium and long term.
Tower's share price rose 7.1% by midday on the TASE today to NIS 3.60, after falling 2.2% on Nasdaq yesterday to $0.88, giving a market cap of $280 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 24, 2012
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