KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s leader on April 22 announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the country’s role in the global chip industry.

A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 per cent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch.

Now the country wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on April 22.

“I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) design park in South-east Asia that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm,” he said in a speech, referring to the British chip design giant.

The park will be located in Selangor state, he said, without offering any details on costs and timelines.

AFP has reached out to Arm for comment.

The project would mark a significant step for Malaysia, which has long been a chip manufacturing hub, with its northern island of Penang home to a number of facilities and often dubbed the country’s Silicon Valley.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing over advanced technologies, especially semiconductors, in recent years have forced many companies to look into relocating their manufacturing from China to other countries such as Malaysia, Vietnam and India.

The Malaysian government is actively pursuing investment in its semiconductor industry, and Datuk Seri Anwar has said that the country should have done better with past opportunities to grow the sector.

“The fact is that we have experienced missed opportunities in technology investments, making it imperative for us to re-strategise,” he said on April 22. AFP