Tatas create war chest of over Rs 7,600 crore for electronics business

The Tatas have garnered funds to the tune of over Rs 7,600 crore for Tata Electronics, its greenfield electronics and contract manufacturing business venture, through capital infusion by the parent and secured loans, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).

Tata Electronics was given over Rs 608 crore in capital infusion in 2022-23 by its holding company Tata Sons, the highest in a single financial year, which took the total capital infusion till now to Rs 1,820 crore in the last three years since it was started, according to the latest regulatory disclosures. The authorised capital of the firm is Rs 2,000 crore.

The filings also show that the firm has raised secured loans of Rs 5,799 crore as of date.

“The company has almost exhausted its funding limit from the parent since the authorised share capital is Rs 2,000 crore and paid-up capital is Rs  1,820, leaving a balance funding capacity of Rs 180 crore to be utilised. It will have to expand its authorised share capital limit to further expand funding,” Mohit Yadav, founder of business intelligence firm AltInfo told The Economic Times.

Tata Electronics is the group’s latest foray into the electronic component manufacturing business. Tatas expect to take on the likes of Foxconn and Dixon. According to reports, the group is on the cusp of acquiring Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron’s iPhone manufacturing plant in Karnataka.

Tata Electronics is also separately building a mobile phone component manufacturing factory at an investment of over Rs 4,600 crore in Tamil Nadu. If the Wistron deal is completed, Tatas will become the first home-grown firm to assemble iPhones in India. The group is also looking to enter the semiconductor manufacturing business, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran told Nikkei Asia last December.

In April, the group appointed Randhir Thakur as the chief executive officer of Tata Electronics.