NEW DELHI: Malaysia is looking for “structured engagement” with India in the latter’s pursuit of a viable semiconductor manufacturing industry.
Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Liew Chin Tong on a visit to India said Malaysia is keen to be part of “India’s semiconductor story” by offering expertise in key areas.
India has many projects involving foreign semiconductor players such as Foxconn, Micron Technology, Applied Materials, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
Its semiconductor market is projected to grow to US$109 billion by 2030 from US$38 billion in 2023 as per industry estimates.
“We want to see how to have structured engagement with India in the semiconductor sector,“ Liew told Bernama on Tuesday.
Liew said many foreign companies now investing in India have been present in Malaysia for decades and this creates opportunities for “trilateral” business relationships.
“Through them we have already developed a robust Malaysian supply chain. We think this is where we can work together with India,“ Liew said.
Malaysia’s long-established capabilities on the equipment, assembly and testing side of the semiconductor business can help India in developing its supply chain at a faster pace, he said.
On the domestic front, Liew said the government’s emphasis as part of the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) announced in May last year is to grow Malaysian technology companies.
“For a long time the semiconductor sector has been treated as foreign direct investment, but we have not put emphasis on growing Malaysian innovation and capability,“ he said.
There is now a greater focus on using the semiconductor sector to power Malaysian technology and engineering industries.
Liew exchanged views on India’s relations with ASEAN and Malaysia and how the two countries can collaborate in “the current global geoeconomics landscape” during a meeting with India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant.
Liew interacted with representatives of Malaysian companies operating in India at the High Commission of Malaysia on Tuesday evening.
His engagement with members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), one of the largest trade associations, focused on developing Malaysia-India cooperation in trade and investment.
