Advertisement

Malaysia has secured over RM63 billion in semiconductor investments as of March 2025, marking a major milestone under its National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.

Out of the value, Anwar said RM58 billion originated from foreign investors, while RM5 billion came from domestic sources, underscoring strong global confidence in Malaysia’s long-term semiconductor prospects.

He highlighted that the substantial inflows are anchored by strategic projects from global and regional tech leaders, including Carsem’s advanced packaging facilities supporting energy efficiency, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence applications; Infineon’s development of the world’s largest 200mm silicon carbide power fab; and contributions from NXP, Syntiant and Plexus in semiconductor manufacturing and sensor technologies.

Launched in May 2024, the NSS is a three-phase national plan backed by RM25 billion in fiscal support, with the aim of elevating Malaysia’s semiconductor capabilities by nurturing local champions, advancing integrated circuit (IC) design, expanding advanced packaging capacity and strengthening manufacturing equipment development.

Anwar revealed that Malaysia is already seeing strong progress as thirteen homegrown companies across the semiconductor value chain have emerged as potential national champions.

“Nine of these, including Carsem, Inari, Pentamaster, ViTrox and Kelington, are each projected to generate over RM500 million in revenue this year. Four others, focused on IC design such as Oppstar, SkyeChip, Infinecs and Experior, are recording annual revenue growth of more than 25%,” Anwar said during his keynote address at the ASEAN Semiconductor Summit 2025.

He added that to support further expansion, the government is mobilising more than RM2 billion in capital from public and private sources, including government-linked investment companies such as Khazanah and KWAP, under initiatives like GEAR-uP. Bank Negara Malaysia and international partners are also contributing to the semiconductor ecosystem’s development.

Meanwhile, he also revealed that to address the critical need for talent, the government has allocated RM1.2 billion to develop 60,000 engineers by 2030. This will be led by a collaboration between CREST and HRD Corp to build a strong, future-ready workforce tailored to the semiconductor industry.

“This is Malaysia’s tipping point. We’re laying the foundation to create our own Fortune 500 tech companies and to secure Malaysia’s place in the global semiconductor value chain,” Anwar said.

As ASEAN Chair in 2025, Anwar highlighted that Malaysia also aims to lead regional collaboration to strengthen supply chains and position the region as a resilient and competitive semiconductor hub globally.

Source: https://www.businesstoday.com.my/2025/07/24/malaysia-secures-rm63-billion-in-semiconductor-investments/