Indian company Amber Enterprises may invest 20 billion INR ($267M) in a PCB manufacturing facility in the country, reports say.
Amber Enterprises, the Indian company transitioning to a diversified B2B electronics manufacturer from AC makers, is expected to allocate Rs 20 billion for a new printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing plant in India. The investment is equivalent to $267 million. Reports say that the investment is supposed to take place within the next few months.
The probable investment came after Amber Group acquired a major stake in Ascent Circuits, a manufacturer of printed circuit board assemblies. The company has also recently entered a deal with the South Korean PCB maker Korea Circuit. According to the report by Mint, this move aligns with the group’s strategy of backward integration as it aims to evolve into a comprehensive provider of electronics manufacturing services.
Earlier this year, Amber Enterprises announced plans to develop a comprehensive range of PCBs for India’s electronics manufacturing sector through the partnership with Korean Circuit. This includes various types such as high-density interconnect, flexible PCBs, semiconductor substrates, and more.
Jasbir Singh, from Amber Enterprises, emphasised India’s EMS growth potential due to the government’s anti-dumping duty on PCB imports, expecting higher local production and less reliance on imports. He noted their shift from assembly to making various PCB layers, aided by the Korean collaboration to meet India’s rising demand.
In the Q4FY24 earnings call last month, Sudhir Goyal, CFO of Amber Enterprises discussed the potential expansion of printed circuit board production for Make in India, driven by recent customer acquisitions. Jasbir Singh further observed increased interest from automotive customers in Ascent Circuits. He mentioned that plans for expanding capacity are in progress, awaiting government incentives and clarification on the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS). They aim to establish India’s largest PCB manufacturing plant for Ascent.
However, none of them has specified anything about the upcoming investment.
The Central government is already encouraging domestic companies to expand in the electronics industry through PLI schemes and other assisting policies. Besides, India has placed a five-year anti-dumping duty on printed circuit board imports from China and Hong Kong. Experts noted that this move paves the way for local manufacturing growth, benefiting companies like Amber.
