Malaysia intends to woo RM500 billion ($107 billion) in semiconductor industry investment, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
How Malaysia is becoming the next global chip giant
At a conference [YouTube video – English-language portion of Anwar's speech begins at 15:47] in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, the head of government expressed the desire for the country to build on its current strengths as a provider of outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) services and move into advanced manufacturing semiconductor design, improved OSAT and advanced packaging, plus production of sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
To understand the scale of the Prime Minister's ambition, his $107 billion target exceeds the combined funds offered under the European Union (€43 billion/$47 billion) and US ($52 billion) CHIPS Acts.
Malaysia's plan is called the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) and calls for the establishment of ten local design and advanced chip manufacturing champions earning annual revenues of between $210 million and $1 billion, plus 100 "semiconductor-related companies" with revenues of up to $210 million.
