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Kolkata: India is gunning for a strong foothold in the global semiconductor race. place Perhaps it will not be an exaggeration to say that the future of semiconductor or chip factory is linked to the availability of water for a single chip fab unit uses approximately 10 million gallons of ultra-pure water daily. Analyst point out that it is the amount of water needed in about 33,000 American homes combined. Therefore, companies which specialise in wastewater treatment and ultra-pure water can benefit a lot from the semiconductor and AI booms because data centres too need a lot of water.
VA Tech Wabag and ION Exchange are two stocks that draw attention in this climate. Let's have a look at these companies and their businesses. Water companies have to do well in a situation where the country targets a place under the sun in large-scale chip fabrication and data centres.
VA Tech Wabag is a global water technology company and has operations in more than 25 countries. It is among the world's top private water operating companies. It offers a comprehensive range of services -- from drinking water to sewage treatment, seawater freshening to wastewater recycling, Ultra Pure Water and Zero Liquid Discharge. It focuses on engineering and operation and maintenance and does not manufacture heavy machinery.
Wabag has core competence in Ultra Power Water plants for the solar and semiconductor sectors. It also won a big order from a solar cell factory in Hyderabad (Reneusys) to manufacture UPW and treatment systems. India is targeting 130 GW of solar capacity by 2030, which will require 100–150 MLD of UPW. The market size is estimated to about Rs 3,500 crore. The fast growing data center sector will also need huge water for clean water for cooling. Wabag can purify sewage water and supply it to data centers. The company boasts of an order book of Rs 16,000 crore at the end of the September 2025 quarter. At close on Dec 12, VA Tech Wabag stocks were trading at Rs 1,250.00, up Rs 2.30 or 0.18%.
Ion Exchange is another company with a proven track record in providing water and wastewater solutions. It is active in as many as 67 countries. It also has a domestic use product such as ZeroB. It has an engineering division that accounts for 61% of revenue and includes ZLD, recycling and UPW plants. It is now trying to step into the semiconductor, solar and data center sectors as major markets and has already won bids for UPW and high-purity water. ION Exchange has adopted predictive AI and IoT technology and it helps detect faults in large plants, particularly data centers, early. At close of trade on Dec 12, Ion Exchange (India) stocks were trading at Rs 350.80, down Rs 1.35 or 0.38%.
VA Tech Wabag
P/E: 24.3
5-Year Median P/E: 15.6
RoE: 14.6%
RoCE: 19.7%
ION Exchange
P/E: 24.6
5-Year Median P/E: 27.2
RoE: 19.7%
RoCE: 22.3%
(Disclaimer: This article is only meant to provide information. News9 does not recommend buying or selling shares or subscriptions of any IPO, Mutual Funds, precious metals, commodity, any form of alternative investment instruments and crypto assets.)
