KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia aims to develop domestic capability in advanced semiconductor packaging within two years as part of efforts to develop the sector and move up the industry's value chain, Malaysian Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Chang Lih Kang said on Friday.
This will be implemented through a consortium made up of five local companies and a matching grant from the government, combining public and industry efforts to build advanced packaging capabilities, Chang told a press briefing following a working visit to three of the companies.
"The government has approved a 92 million ringgit (about 23.46 million U.S. dollars) research and development grant over 24 months for the program, while industry is contributing 93 million ringgit," he said.
"The main objective is to enable Malaysia to move up the semiconductor value chain. We already have a strong foundation in semiconductors and electrical and electronics, but we have been largely focused on outsourced semiconductor assembly and test," he said.
"The country is currently the world's sixth-largest semiconductor exporter, and the development of advanced packaging will strengthen the ecosystem and national intellectual property (IP) as the world enters the artificial intelligence (AI) supercycle ... Malaysia will become a key hub for semiconductor packaging, testing and export," he said. ■
