Malaysia’s Penang looks ‘50 years ahead’ to revive Silicon Valley of the East

Malaysia, currently the sixth-largest semiconductor exporter in the world, has been focusing largely on back-end activities. The country commands 13 per cent of the global assembly, testing and packaging market.

To support the industry to move up the value chain, more than US$5.6 billion has been earmarked by the government under the national semiconductor strategy unveiled in May last year.

Penang, located along the northwestern coast of Peninsular Malaysia, is home to over 350 multinational corporations. It has already attracted billions in investment from tech giants like Intel, Infineon, Lam Research and Texas Instruments.