Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz (from left), Kedah Chief Minister Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Infineon Technologies AG CEO Jochen Hanebeck and Chief Operating Officer Rutger Wijburg Senior officials from Infineon Technologies AG during the opening ceremony of the company’s new semiconductor factory in Kulim, Malaysia, Thursday, August 8, 2024.
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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim elaborated on Malaysia’s attractiveness as a wafer manufacturing hub at the opening ceremony Infineon’s A semiconductor manufacturing plant located in Kulim, Malaysia.
“Politically, our policies are stable and clear, and I mean energy transition, industrial policy, master planning, even semiconductor policy,” he told CNBC’s JP Ong.
“This helps generate more interest from investors,” Anwar said, adding that Infineon’s participation “very much” demonstrates the company’s confidence in the country’s overall semiconductor ecosystem.
German chipmaker Infineon has started the first phase of construction of a new factory in Kulim, which the company says will be the world’s largest silicon carbide factory.
Malaysia is emerging as a key location for semiconductor manufacturing as tensions between China and the United States rise and companies diversify their operations.
In December 2021, the American chip giant Intel announced plans to invest more than US$7 billion to build a chip packaging and testing factory in Malaysia. Construction of the company’s first overseas production facility began in 1972 with a $1.6 million investment in an assembly plant. Intel subsequently added a full test facility and a development and design center in Malaysia.
Similarly, last September, GlobalFoundries opened a center in Penang to support its global manufacturing network, complementing its existing facilities in the United States, Europe and Singapore.
On whether Malaysia can generate enough talent to supply the growing industry, the Prime Minister assured that the country’s professionals and students are capable of doing so.
“Our role in government is to facilitate this process and ensure that we allocate sufficient funds for this purpose,” Anwar said.
Anwar said last September that the government was seeking to attract skilled Malaysians to return and contribute to the country. The country has ambitions to train and upskill 60,000 Malaysians over the next decade to become highly skilled semiconductor engineers.
