KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 — A more resilient and flexible semiconductor supply chain is necessary for Malaysia to navigate a course of robust and sustainable growth, said Senior Minister and International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
He said making semiconductor and electronics supply chain more resilient in the long term would help lower costs and make the industry more agile and efficient in the face of uncertainty and volatility.
“This is imperative as the industry is experiencing a period of high growth on a global scale over the past year, with major semiconductor players making investments exceeding US$550 billion (US$1=RM4.36) in fabrication plants,” he said at the Malaysia electrical and electronics (E&E) 50th anniversary celebration dinner organised by the Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA).
Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Lim Ban Hong, and MSIA president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai.
Mohamed Azmin said the memorandum of cooperation on semiconductor supply chain resilience signed with the United States (US) is highly significant to Malaysia that the country cannot overstress the positive impact of it.
He noted that his International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) will be reaching out to the E&E industry soon to establish action plans to achieve the objective of the memorandum.
In 2021, E&E products worth RM455.7 billion were exported, up 18 per cent from 2020 and representing 36.8 per cent of Malaysia’s total exports.
MITI recently concluded a trade and investment mission to the US, securing RM16.52 billion investments including strategic investments from global manufacturing giants such as Texas Instruments and AMD worth RM7.92 billion, which are expected to provide over 4,000 jobs opportunities.
