By Toby Stirling
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, March 4 (Reuters) – An Indian business delegation visited the Dutch semiconductor center in Eindhoven on Wednesday to discuss investment opportunities as New Delhi steps up its efforts to build a domestic chip industry.
India has eight projects underway, including a $14 billion Tata Electronics facility in Gujarat, which has pledged billions of dollars in subsidies to attract semiconductor manufacturing plants and related industries.
At the same time, Dutch semiconductor companies are seeking new markets and geographic diversification amid export controls and trade restrictions related to US-China technology competition.
“It is clear that there are opportunities for Dutch companies, firstly to export equipment,” and later as a base for manufacturing, given India’s large engineering workforce, said Michel Smit of the Netherlands Trade Organization (RVO).
Manish Hooda, chief technology officer at the Indian Semiconductor Mission, said Dutch companies pursuing a “China-plus-one” manufacturing strategy should consider India as their manufacturing hub outside of China.
“We are very open if they are interested in setting up operations in India,” Hooda said.
The Eindhoven region is home to leading chip equipment manufacturer ASML and dozens of its top suppliers. Chipmaker NXP Semiconductors is also located there.
ASML revealed last week that it is opening a support office in India. A spokesman declined to provide further details.
India’s subsidy program starting in 2021 covers up to 50% of project costs, with state governments offering an additional 20% to 25%, Hooda said. He added that the second program scheduled for approval on March 30 could be even bigger.
Smith said that around 50 to 60 Dutch companies have requested to meet the Indian delegation.
Indian engineers already form a significant part of the Dutch technical workforce. According to statistics agency CBS, the number of Indians in the Netherlands is expected to triple to 89,000 in 2024 compared to 2014, with more than 10,000 living in the Eindhoven region.
Both countries hope to announce strategic cooperation during the planned visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this year.
(Reporting by Toby Stirling; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
