Amber Enterprises to Invest ₹2,000 Crore in India’s Largest PCB Plant Amid Growing Demand

Amber Enterprises plans to invest ₹2,000 crore in a new printed circuit board (PCB) facility. This move follows their acquisition of a majority stake in Ascent Circuits, a PCB assembly maker. The investment is part of Amber’s strategy to become a comprehensive electronics manufacturing services provider.

A source, requesting anonymity, mentioned that the investment will likely happen in the next few months. Amber Enterprises has not responded to queries about this development.

Amber, originally a residential air-conditioning manufacturer, is transitioning into a diversified electronics goods maker. Their partnership with South Korea’s Korea Circuit will help them produce various types of PCBs needed for different electronics applications, including high-density, flexible, multilayer, and single-sided PCBs.

Meeting Market Needs

The new facility will enable Amber to supply PCBs for industries like mobile, IT, semiconductors, home appliances, consumer electronics, aerospace, defense, medical, energy, automotive, telecom, and data centers. This move aligns with India’s push to boost local electronics manufacturing and reduce dependency on imports from China.

India’s government supports local manufacturing through policies like the production-linked incentive scheme and the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS). BNP Paribas predicts that India’s electronics manufacturing industry will grow at 27% annually from FY23 to FY27, reaching $100 billion in revenue.

Amber and other domestic suppliers like Dixon Technologies are expected to capture a larger market share, with revenues projected to more than double to $55 billion by FY27.

Expansion and Opportunities

India has imposed anti-dumping duties on PCB imports from China and Hong Kong, benefiting local manufacturers like Amber. Amber’s CFO, Sudhir Goyal, mentioned that the anti-dumping duty opens new opportunities, especially in auto and IT products. Amber is evaluating its expansion plans and government incentives before finalizing the total capacity expansion.

Amber’s CEO, Jasbir Singh, noted that Ascent Circuits is seeing increased demand from large auto customers. This could lead to significant growth based on expected demand and capacity expansion. Amber aims to build India’s largest PCB manufacturing plant for Ascent, pending government incentives and customer commitments.