9MAY 2024TOP STORIESARCELORMITTAL NIPPON STEEL SEEKING TO RAISE CAPITAL FOR EXPANSION TARGETSSCL SET TO LEAD IN ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR TECHArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, a joint venture between ArcelorMittal South Africa and Japan's Nippon Steel, is reportedly in discussions with banks to secure a loan of about 85 billion rupees ($1 billion). The loan would be utilized for funding the firm's expansion plans, making it potentially the largest local-currency loan in India for the year 2024.Several lenders, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank, are expected to participate in the syndicated deal. State Bank of India, being India's top bank, may contribute more than half of the loan amount. The loan will likely have a tenure longer than five years and could be priced against a local interest rate benchmark.The purpose of the loan is to support ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India's capital expenditure as it seeks to enhance its capacity. The potential loan comes amid expectations of increased infrastructure spending in India, driven by anticipated reelection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Although the details of the lending facility are not finalized and may change, if the deal goes through, it would mark the largest rupee-denominated loan in India for the year 2024. ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, and Axis Bank have not yet responded to requests for comments on the matter. After almost 35 years, the SCL, Semi-Conductor Laboratory in the city of Mohali, Punjab, is now proceeding to wipe out the scars of a fire that once ran its 51-acre campus. The Modernization Alignment (MA) project launched by Meity, an initiative amounting to a substantial Rs 10,000 crore, is designed to not only revamp the existing 180 nm technology fab, but also to introduce 28 nm technology.Unfortunately, the story of irony is that from the year 1984, SCL started its operations when Taiwan's Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was not yet in business and the chip manufacturer later became a global giant. Due to challenges such as the fire that occurred and the state-owned company nature that is typical of bureaucracy, SCL stopped its operation until 1995.The personal experience of Manoj Wadhwa, the group head at VLSI and MEMS fabrication, brings back those times when the team underwent a two-year transformation period in AMS, Austria and made the switch from 2 microns to 1.2 microns, a landmark they reached upon returning to India.Today, as Micron based in the US goes to announce the launch of its first chip from its own assembly, test, marking, and packaging (ATMP) facility located in the city of Sanand, Gujarat, SCL imparts relevant training to Micron's personnel and extends its services to the emerging endeavors.
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