Image credit: Borneo Post Online
The electrical and electronics (E&E) sector has been identified as playing a critical role in the country’s recovery and re-growth following the Covid-19 outbreak.
SEMI South-East Asia president Ng Bee Bee said the global semiconductor market has shown early signs of resilience to the economic turmoil caused by the pandemic.
“Part of this strength comes from the nature of the industry itself, which is present and plays a role in growing other vital sectors such as healthcare, automotive and retail.
“We foresee the E&E landscape in Malaysia stabilising in the coming months on the back of demand for smart manufacturing capabilities, automation and technological innovations,” she said in a statement yesterday.
She said the country remains competitive amid the pandemic and digitalisation is urgent to future-proof businesses from other risks.
“Our diversified economic structure and continuous support from the government in balancing public health and the livelihood of the people underpin the growth momentum of the country’s industrial capacity.
“To sustain our competitive advantages, the need to transform the Malaysian economy via digital empowerment is no longer an option,” Ng said.
Moving forward with the digitisation process, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) CEO Datuk Azman Mahmud (picture) said the agency has taken steps to embrace an innovative initiative by introducing the nation’s Lighthouse Project, a concept of modelling companies that have embraced Industry 4.0 in their business model.
“Malaysia is moving ahead as one of the top global manufacturing nations through the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.
“We are also hard at work in assisting existing companies from various industrial sectors, including the E&E industry, to transform and emerge as lighthouses,” he said.
Azman said Mida is looking forward to having more E&E companies to be well engaged in lighthouse operations to enhance their footprints in Malaysia.
“Companies should tap on Malaysia’s strong fundamentals which include the E&E infrastructure and business ecosystem developed over the last 50 years,” he said.
The Movement Control Order implemented by the government on March 18 has affected almost all industries in the country, and its measures are expected to ease up into the second half of the year.
This spells an increase in local economic activities and for supply and demand to gradually improve.
Moving on with the positive outlook, SEMI South-East Asia will be organising SEMICON South-East Asia 2020 virtually at SEMICON West 2020 from July 20-23.
The online event will involve industry leaders and subject matter experts discussing the latest trends in the industry, as well as developments and innovations at the South-East Asia Pavilion.
It will also continue from Aug 10-21 with technical webinars, which focus on trending topics including sustainable manufacturing and advanced packaging.
Ng said organising the event via virtual platform is a part of SEMI’s commitment to the health and safety of its members, exhibitors, guests and employees.
“Even during these unprecedented times, connecting industry players, especially small and medium enterprises, remains important as we focus on staying adaptive and creative to ride through the fluid landscape.
“The sessions planned during the virtual tradeshow, such as the online business matching programme, will expound this priority to ensure the industry seizes the innovation and growth opportunities vital to its growth,” she said.
Source: https://themalaysianreserve.com/2020/06/18/ee-industry-a-key-sector-in-post-covid-recovery/