Semiconductor companies Micron Technology and Applied Materials said they would set up new facilities in India, extending a push by companies to position themselves as the country’s economy expands, while diversifying their supply chains.
Micron (ticker: MU) said it would invest up to $825 million and create as many as 5,000 direct Micron jobs over the next several years. The memory and storage products maker will receive substantial financial support from the Indian government, including incentives from Prime Minister Narendra...
Micron Technology and Applied Materials are planning to open new facilities in India.
Dreamstime
Semiconductor companies Micron Technology and Applied Materials said they would set up new facilities in India, extending a push by companies to position themselves as the country’s economy expands, while diversifying their supply chains.
Micron (ticker: MU) said it would invest up to $825 million and create as many as 5,000 direct Micron jobs over the next several years. The memory and storage products maker will receive substantial financial support from the Indian government, including incentives from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
Applied Materials
(AMAT), meanwhile, said it plans to invest $400 million over four years in a new engineering center in India.
The announcements come as Modi makes an official visit to the U.S. at a point of tremendous significance for the world’s most populous country in terms of international relations. India’s nonaligned stance has come into focus as the country continues to import crude oil at a discounted rate from Russia despite international sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
Optimism about growth is also mounting as multinational companies move in to take advantage of India’s vast economy. News that Apple opened its first Indian store in Mumbai in April, followed by a New Delhi outlet, has added to the hope, while Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said after meeting with Modi Tuesday that the company will move into India “as soon as humanly possible.”
Diversifying manufacturing out of neighboring China is a rationale for the move into India as well. Given Washington’s increasingly shaky relationship with Beijing and the risk that China could move to take control of Taiwan, U.S. companies are finding ways to ensure supplies of critical components remain undisrupted.
Micron stock was 1% higher in early trading, while Applied Materials gained 1.2%.
Write to Karishma Vanjani at karishma.vanjani@dowjones.com.