CHIEF Minister Chow Kon Yeow clarified that he did not state that Penang does not need an integrated circuit (IC) design park, contrary to what was reported in an English daily.
In an earlier statement, he acknowledged mentioning that Penang currently has no IC park but that does not imply the absence of IC companies in Penang.
Chow was responding to a question during a press conference yesterday regarding former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s recent statement about the loss of a multi-million ringgit IC design park to Selangor despite the state’s financial capability to undertake the project.
“Penang will continue to strive to attract investments, including in the field of IC design, because the semiconductor network encompasses various extensive sectors, including smaller related industries.
“Therefore, the state government will continue to pursue various investments to ‘complete’ the semiconductor ecosystem and support the supply chains.
“These endeavours encompass not only the IC design sector but also other sectors,” Chow said during a press conference held at the St Giles The Wembley Hotel today.
Chow expressed his intention to arrange a meeting with Guan Eng, Penang Development Corporation, and InvestPenang to discuss and exchange ideas regarding the IC design park matter.
Apart from that, Chow also shared that he welcomed the Federal government’s initiative to come up with the National Semiconductor Strategic Plan which will be launched in May.
“Under the National Semiconductor Strategic Plan, I have heard that there are plans to assign tasks to the respective states in the related ‘small’ sectors.
“This is to ensure there is no competition among states but to view this sector within the context of the country, as we need to compete with other countries.
“We will see what role will be assigned to Penang since I believe that Penang has a comprehensive ecosystem in this country,” he added.
At yesterday’s press conference, Chow announced that an investment of more than US$100 million is expected to be made in Penang by three prominent international semiconductor companies.
The three companies – China Wafer Level CSP Co Ltd (WLCSP), Ningbo SJ Electronics Co Ltd (SJE) and Wuxi AMTE Inc (AMTE) are set to strengthen the integrated circuit (IC) design and advanced packaging sectors.
He commented that Penang takes great pride in being selected as the preferred location for these three corporations, a testament to the trust and confidence foreign investors have in the state.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Siew Chie En
Video by Muhamad Amir Irsyad Omar