Malaysia Established a Semiconductor Strategic Task Force
On January 9, 2024, the Government of Malaysia established a national semiconductor strategic task force to lead the development of Malaysia’s next generation chip ecosystem and attract investment. The task force comprises various ministries, academics, as well as domestic and global industry players. Its mission is twofold: fostering Malaysia’s chip industry and nurturing its technical talent pool.
Malaysia’s New Industrial Master Plan 2030 launched last year aims to help the country climb the semiconductor value chain, from assembly and packaging to wafer fabrication and equipment manufacturing. Recent investments made by Intel ($7 billion), Infineon ($5.5 billion), and Texas Instruments ($3.1 billion) show that Malaysia is well-positioned to engage in the chip industry’s more complex activities.
As the world’s sixth largest semiconductor exporter, Malaysia commands 7% of the global market share and contributed to 23% of the U.S. semiconductor trade in 2022. A key watchpoint for Malaysia’s future semiconductor competitiveness is whether it can stop the outflow of technical talent to Singapore.