The newly appointed chief executive officer of Vedanta's untried display business is seeking to hire global talent to build and run a $4 billion factory in western India.
YJ Chen, who previously worked at Chinese display maker HKC,
said the display venture will soon begin recruiting from South Korea, Taiwan,
Japan and other regions to set up a liquid crystal display panel fabrication
unit in India. The factory will create as many as 3,500 direct jobs, he said.
“We need a lot of technicians, very talented people,” Chen,
who has 23 years of experience in the display industry, said in an interview in
India's financial hub of Mumbai. “That's the biggest challenge — people.”
Even as it's suffering from a heavy debt load, billionaire
Anil Agarwal's metals and mining conglomerate is expanding in electronics
components to take advantage of India's push to become a technology
manufacturing hub. The display business is separate from Vedanta's struggling
chip venture and may find an easier path to success as it's a less technically
demanding undertaking.
Vedanta, which has partnered with Foxconn Group affiliate
Innolux for the display business, plans to manufacture glass and assemble LCD
panels at its new factory. The unit could start production toward the end of
2025 if it gets crucial funding from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government,
Chen said.
PM Modi has pledged $10 billion (roughly Rs. 82,028 crore)
to woo chip and display makers to India, promising his administration will bear
half the cost of setting up all semiconductor and display fabrication sites.
While Vedanta's chip plans are yet to get government backing, its display
business could find it easier to win state incentives with key tech
partnerships in place. Vedanta also owns Japan-based AvanStrate, which makes
layers used in LCD panels.
Meanwhile, the world's top display companies are phasing out
LCD technology and moving on to sharper OLEDs. The leader in display
technology, South Korea's Samsung Display, has ceased LCD production and is
pouring billions into making next-generation displays. Its homegrown rival LG
Display is similarly scaling down LCD manufacturing.
With its display push, Vedanta is seeking to grab a slice of
India's display market, which it expects to grow to an annual $30 billion over
the next seven years. It will have to compete with inexpensive Chinese LCDs and
develop newer displays for long-term success.
“We need to build our own supply chain in India,” Chen said.
“We will focus on new designs to lower costs, and compete with the Chinese.”