On April 22, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced plans to construct the most important semiconductor design park in Southeast Asia. The focus is on promoting semiconductor design, prototyping and manufacturing in Malaysia to strengthen the country’s position in the worldwide chip industry.
As a part of this effort, the federal government will offer incentives reminiscent of tax breaks, subsidies and visa fee waivers to draw technology firms and global investors. Malaysia has been a pacesetter within the semiconductor industry for several many years, producing about 13 percent of world production, based on German technology company Bosch.
The Malaysian Semiconductor Acceleration Park and IC Design Park will likely be established in Puchong, Selangor. The initial area of 45,000 square meters will likely be expanded to 60,000 square meters.
Also read: Amid US-China tensions, Malaysia takes center stage as a semiconductor hub
Anwar Ibrahim revealed that the IC Design Park development plan is an element of a Malaysian initiative to reinforce advanced design activities and move away from circuit assembly and testing. This project will likely be supported by local governments in Malaysia, particularly Selangor, and can attract world-class tenants and partner with global firms reminiscent of Arm Holdings from the UK.
Under Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional will establish a 1 billion ringgit fund to speculate in revolutionary Malaysian firms with high growth potential. This was announced by Anwar throughout the KL20 Summit in support of Malaysian startups.
Also read: Malaysia now houses the most important Tesla supercharger station in Southeast Asia!
Meanwhile, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said the federal government would offer incentives reminiscent of subsidized office space, work visa exemptions, relocation services and low corporate tax rates to foreign enterprise capital firms, technology entrepreneurs and unicorn firms excited by investing in Malaysia.
The project marks a major step for Malaysia, which is generally known as a chip manufacturing center, particularly on the northern island of Penang, often called Silicon Valley.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing over technology, especially semiconductors, have prompted several firms to maneuver production from China to other countries reminiscent of Malaysia, Vietnam and India. The Malaysian government is actively pursuing investments within the semiconductor industry and Datuk Seri Anwar stressed the importance of capitalizing on past growth opportunities within the sector. He believes Malaysia must restructure to optimize previously lost technology investments.
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