Taiwan, Malaysia Semiconductor Players Urged To Work Together For Better Prospects

By Zairina Zainudin and Nur Athirah Mohd Shaharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- Semiconductor and electrical and electronics (E&E) players from Taiwan and Malaysia should work together and leverage on each other’s strength to reap all opportunities in the global supply chain especially against the backdrop of a US-China trade war and geopolitical tensions.

Second secretary of Economic Division, Taipei Economic and Culture office in Malaysia, Kai Chang said Taiwan’s accomplishments in the global semiconductor industry are evident as the country is ranked first in the world in the wafer foundry output value, packaging and testing.

She said Taiwan’s integrated circuit (IC) design industry is also the world’s second largest in terms of output value, while being fourth in the global dynamic random-access memory (DRAM).

Therefore, the world's top five semiconductor equipment manufacturers -- Applied Materials Inc, ASML Holding, Tokyo Electron Ltd (TEL), Lam Research Corporation, KLA Corporation -- have all set up their assembly plants or research and development and service base in Taiwan in recent years.

“Malaysia is among the very important semiconductor industrial cluster in the world and its total value of semiconductor is about 13 per cent of the world’s output, while Taiwan is also very famous in the advancing packaging, testing, and wafer foundering.

“So I think if Taiwan and Malaysia can cooperate, we can build up more complementary supply chain resilience and help Malaysian companies to make innovative transformations,” she told Bernama when met at SEMICON Southeast Asia 2024, the largest congregation of supply chain companies in the semiconductor and electronics industry.

Thirty-five Taiwanese companies participated in the three-day event, showcasing their capabilities and latest technologies to visitors, other exhibitors and importantly to potential investors.

Kai said Malaysia and Taiwan have enjoyed trade and investment cooperation over the years, acknowledging the former’s 50 years of experience in developing semiconductor packaging and testing.

She also noted Malaysia’s capabilities in attracting international companies in the areas of foundry, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT), and integrated device manufacturer (IDM) such as Intel Corporation, ASE Group, GlobalFoundries Inc and Infineon Technologies.

“They are all expanding their investments in Malaysia, and (this) will definitely (require Malaysia to have) a complete supply chain to support them in the future.

“Taiwan and Malaysia are complementing one another in this regard. As such, we hope to establish a cooperation model for semiconductor supply chain in both countries through technical cooperation, agency and OEM (original equipment manufacturer),” she said.

Additionally, Kai said similarities in languages such as English and Chinese, would be a great advantage for Taiwanese companies to grow their businesses in Malaysia.

“It is a very good help for Taiwanese businesses to grow their business in Southeast Asia as well as the Central Asian market,” she said.

Kai said that in the first quarter of this year, bilateral trade between the two nations reached US$8.8 billion (RM41.36 billion), marking a remarkable 31 per cent hike compared with the corresponding period in 2023.

Malaysia's exports to Taiwan during the quarter surged 34.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM14.4 billion, while import increased 29.4 per cent y-o-y to RM27.88 billion.

-- BERNAMA