INDIA INC. IN DIVERSIFICATION RUSH

Cash-rich groups foray into new-age businesses, consolidate existing ones to add to market value.

- NEVIN JOHN

IN MARCH, the Central government approved the 120-year-old Murugappa Group’s plan to set up a semiconductor unit in Sanand, Gujarat. CG Power and Industrial Solutions, a subsidiary of Murugappa Group firm Tube Investments of India, will invest ₹7,600 crore to build and operate an outsourced semiconductor assembly and test facility, in technology tie-ups with Japanese giant Renesas Electronics and Thailandbased Stars Microelectronics. The engineering and financial services conglomerate, the Murugappa Group, which holds 92.3% stake in the joint venture through CG Power, will now compete with Tata Group, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) and HCL in the semiconductor space.

Tata Electronics, meanwhile, has invested ₹27,000 crore in Jagiroad, Assam to build the assembly and testing of semiconductor chips for applications across automotive, mobile devices and artificial intelligence (AI), among others. Assembly and test is a critical part of the semiconductor value chain where wafers manufactured by semiconductor fabrication plants are assembled, packaged and tested before they are finally used in the desired product.

Indian conglomerates are in an opportunity hunt, and are looking to diversify into lucrative emerging sectors, besides entering consumer businesses which offer larger space for organised players. For companies, their mainstay businesses generate ample cash flow, which necessitates deployment of accrued cash into new opportunities. In its recent report, McKinsey & Company puts diversification as one of the key differentiators for the soaring operational performance of family led businesses in India, which contribute over 75% of national GDP.