Welcome to the eighth issue of DNeXPOST!

Ongoing challenges faced by the global semiconductor industry can present a silver lining for industry players to equip their organisations with the necessary skill sets and prepare for the upswing in future demand, which requires investment in high-end advanced wafer manufacturing materials, equipment, and services.

Already, we are starting to see early signs of recovery and demand uptick within the semiconductor industry. According to Deloitte’s 2023 semiconductor industry outlook, the global semiconductor industry is expected to grow to US$1 trillion in revenues by 2030, doubling in the decade.

Global management consulting firm McKinsey also concurred that the global semiconductor industry revenues are projected to reach US$1 trillion by 2030. Of the total, 70 per cent of this growth will be spurred by the automotive arising from the increasing demand for electric vehicles, computation and data storage, as well as wireless industries.

Similarly, Malaysia aims to increase its market share of being the global exporter of semiconductors from seven per cent to 15 per cent by 2030. The country is currently ranked among the top 10 global hubs for semiconductors and electronics.

In preparing for this, local industry players need to ramp up their efforts to create a diverse pool of local talents, equipped with required skills and capabilities for building and automating their manufacturing facilities.

Specific training on the application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (“AI”), robotics and big data are essential to equip the existing talent pool with advanced manufacturing processes in terms of designing and manufacturing sophisticated chips.

Automation and digitisation could also be vital in transforming its operations as the semiconductor industry is becoming less purely hardware-focused due to higher dependency on software applications.

On the other hand, industry players need to also enhance their cooperation with the federal and state governments in realising Malaysia’s aspiration to capture a wider market share and reinforce its position as the global hub for semiconductors.

It is heartening to note that the Government remains committed to the country's semiconductor sector.

At the launch of recent Semicon Southeast Asia 2023, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the Government is committed to working with industry stakeholders to map out the entire supply chain and developing targeted interventions that support the industry and drive growth.

He said Malaysia was now ranked the seventh largest exporter of semiconductors in the world, with a market share of seven per cent. With the semiconductor industry projected to grow into a trillion-dollar industry by the end of this decade, the country hopes to raise the current 13 per cent market share to 15 per cent by 2030, he added.

We hope that you find this issue of DNeXPOST – which covers key business updates and stories on our people – meaningful.