3 Chinese Semiconductor Companies Are Coming To Penang With USD100 Million Investment
The investment is aimed at boosting Malaysia's chip industry.
By Sadho Ram — 29 Apr 2024, 10:06 AM — Updated 7 months ago
Three new semiconductor companies have expressed interest in investing in Penang, with a total investment of USD100 million (RM476 million), Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced
The three companies are China Wafer Level CSP Co, Ningbo SJ Electronics Co, and Wuxi AMTE Inc.
Chow said the proposed investment was made possible by the new Malaysian venture capital firm Blue Chip Venture Capital (BCVC), which played a pivotal role in attracting these strategic investments to the state.
The three companies are poised to bolster Penang's growing integrated circuit (IC) design and advanced packaging ecosystem, Chow told a press conference in George Town, Penang over the weekend.
The investment is aimed at boosting Malaysia's chip industry and contributing to the growth of the country's tech sector
"Penang is proud to be the chosen location for these three semiconductor businesses, which also signifies the confidence that foreign investors have placed in Penang. The landing of these three semiconductor companies is expected to create new and exciting opportunities for local suppliers," Chow said.
"This strategic move will further develop a robust and efficient supply chain ecosystem," he said, adding that the memorandums of understanding signed with the semiconductor companies at the KL20 Summit last week were a crucial step in securing these investments.
According to the New Straits Times, Chow's announcement came in response to his predecessor Lim Guan Eng, who had asked him to explain how Penang lost a multi-million ringgit IC design project to Selangor.
Selangor is building a large IC design park that attracted major companies like ARM.
Lim had questioned how Penang missed this opportunity despite being a leader in the sector. Chow responded by pointing out that many companies investing in Penang also have expertise in IC design.
"They can also do IC work. In Penang, there are, as I said in my earlier statement, so many IC design companies in Penang with this capability. We may not have an IC park but we have a lot of IC-related companies and more will come," the English daily quoted him as saying.
Chow said that the three companies are finalising their plans to invest in Penang.
He said the process would usually take a few months before the investments are realised.
"Right now, they are looking at suitable sites," he added.
Meanwhile, BCVC co-founder and chief executive officer Tim Chen said that another 15 companies are considering to invest in Penang, marking another milestone in Penang's semiconductor industry
"Together, they will create hundreds of job opportunities," he said.
