SEPTEMBER 20258JPMORGAN EXPANDS CORPORATE BANKING IN INDIA AMID CAPEX BOOMSILICON CARBIDE SEMICONDUCTOR PLANT TO INVEST RS 618 CR TO BOOST TECH EDGEAs businesses in fields like solar energy, data centers, and electric vehicles increase capital expenditures in the world's fastest-growing major economy, JPMorgan Chase & Co. is bolstering its corporate banking footprint in India."As demand certainty improves, capex investments will begin," Oliver Brinkmann, co-head of global corporate banking, Asia Pacific, at the US bank, said in a recent interview in Mumbai.RIR Power Electronics is establishing a Rs 618 crore silicon carbide (SiC) semiconductor manufacturing facility in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, which further solidifies India's high-power electronics ecosystem.Perry Schugart, Chief Marketing Officer of Schugart, explained that the Odisha government will provide support for the project by contributing to half of the investment, with the factory being developed in two phases on six acres of land provided by the state.Despite Washington increasing taxes on many Indian goods to 50%, JPMorgan, which views India and Japan as its two fastest-growing Asian markets in terms of corporate banking revenue, anticipates no slowdown in growth. Even though the South Asian economy expanded at its best rate in over a year last quarter, analysts are growing more worried that the tariffs may negatively impact labor-intensive industries and that the momentum may slow."The geopolitical environment, including tariffs, is complicated but JPMorgan takes a long-term strategic view of its business in India," according to Singapore-based Brinkmann. He said the bank's local corporate banking has been growing its revenue by 30% year-on-year for the past two to three years and he expects a similar pace of growth in the next few years.As they pursue expansion possibilities, Indian corporations are expected to double their capital expenditures to $800 billion to $850 billion over the next five years compared to the previous five-year period, according to a June research from S&P Global Ratings. "We are looking to expand our corporate banking presence in sustainable energy, technology, diversified industries and infrastructure," said Brinkmann, adding that JPMorgan is increasing its domestic headcount to focus on these segments. Phase one commences this month, and the focus will be on epitaxial wafer growth using SiC wafers supplied by others. Phase two, which is to be accomplished by December 2027, will establish a full wafer fab capable of manufacturing high voltage MOSFETs, IGBTs and diodes.Schugart explained silicon carbide is the future of power electronics because its wideband gap properties provide a means of much faster switching, improved energy efficiency, and less heat generation than silicon.The technology is evolving in three waves, he stated: firstly, the use of SiC chips in conventional packaging; secondly, an advanced packaging approach in order to optimize thermal management; and now, development for high voltage applications above 3.3 kV and scalable to 20,000 volts, based upon the premise that silicon cannot.These developments fit within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's focus on India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, which prioritizes the strategic objective of SiC wafer manufacturing. Bhubaneswar is already gaining traction in that regard, with SicSem Private Limited of Chennai and Clas-SiC Wafer Fab of Scotland committing 2,066 crore towards the country's first commercial compound semiconductor fab - planned to produce 60,000 wafers per year and package up to 96 million chips. TOP STORIESTOP STORIESTOP STORIES
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