The love for manufacturing semiconductors in Asian countries has always been a trend by many US companies like Intel, or fabless companies who are using chips made by TSMC or Samsung. So, a lot of American chipmakers rely on Asian countries like China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Korea and others.
However, Intel is diversifying and investing more into chip manufacturing around the globe by implementing various factories across the globe. So, the silicon giant looks to invest more than US$7 billion in Malaysia to build both a new assembly and testing facilities, according to its new CEO Pat Gelsinger.
According to Digitimes, Intel will locate this new plant at Bayan Lepas, Penang will shore up its supporting activities and its global service centre with the goal to tackle the semiconductor shortage. Obviously, it will take some time to set up the plant and production will start in 2024, according to New Straits Times.
The Malaysian government has declared that this new chip plant will create more than 4,000 Intel jobs and more than 5,000 construction jobs.
“This undertaking is indeed timely given the bullish global demand driven by the chip shortages and the potential challenges arising from the recovery of the pandemic globally,” said Mohamed Azmin Ali, Malaysia’s minister of international trade and industry (MITI), as cited in a press statement.
Malaysia is becoming a hotspot for the world’s largest chip manufacturers as it accounts for 13% of global chip packaging and testing. It is estimated that 7% of the world’s semiconductor trade passes through this country with some local factories as well as testing and packaging or even assembling even before final shipment.
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