kuala lumpur: This year’s semiconductor exports will be “better” than the 2023 sales of RM575 billion, mainly due to relocation and investment in Malaysia by well-known global companies.
Malaysian Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) chairman Datuk Seri Wong Shu Hai said Malaysia could easily become the largest supplier, with 20% of exports going to the US.
Malaysia ranks sixth in the world for semiconductor exports, reportedly accounting for 7% of the global market share.
Last year, the local semiconductor sector showed its tenacity, with exports falling just 3% from RM595 billion in 2022 as global industry sales fell 8.2%.
“For Malaysia to maintain this position, it will need to ship exports worth RM1.2 trillion by 2030… Everyone is building wafer fab plants around the world, so this will be This is almost double (from RM575 billion in 2019),” Mr Wong said.
In electronics, a wafer is a thin slice of semiconductor, and wafer manufacturing involves a series of repeated processes to create a complete electrical or photonic circuit on a semiconductor wafer.
Nevertheless, there is no denying that Malaysia faces competition, Wong said.
Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and India are also capitalizing on the U.S.-China trade tensions by entering the chip business and benefiting from the move.
But Wong said Malaysia stands out because of the big companies investing here.
Intel has announced its intention to invest US$7 billion (RM33 billion), AT&S €1.7 billion (RM8.7 billion) and Infineon €5 billion. This does not include companies making smaller investments of RM1 billion to RM2 billion each, he said.
Austrian semiconductor company AT&S opened a factory in Kulim, Kedah in January to produce integrated circuit boards for next-generation microchips.
Intel announced two manufacturing plants in Ohio, two in Arizona and one in Germany. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. announced plans to build a second manufacturing plant in Arizona and opened its first plant in Japan this year.
Wong said Samsung and Chinese companies have also announced plans to build mid-range and high-end factories.
He said semiconductor companies are adding capacity in anticipation of growth because “everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie.”
The United States, European Union, South Korea, Japan and China are investing money to position themselves to take advantage of this growth, Wong added. – Bernama
