THE Penang government is committed to building a strong ecosystem of integrated circuit (IC) companies in the state through spinouts from other sectors, such as electrical and electronics (E&E), medical tourism and others.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told a media conference today that the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and InvestPenang would discuss further to get the involvement of all the IC-related companies, including local, homegrown companies, to assist the state government in this matter.
PDC, InvestPenang and former Penang Chief Minister and Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng met with Chow yesterday in Komtar to discuss the development of the IC design sector in Penang.
Chow emphasised the state government’s commitment to supporting local companies by facilitating access to incentives and other essential frameworks. This support aims to bolster their endeavours in establishing a robust IC design ecosystem within the state.
“We will assess its availability from the Federal Government, and if confirmed, we advocate for its distribution to states with established histories of IC-related industries, ensuring maximum benefit to those already invested in the sector,” he said after attending the Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) Raya Open House at the PHC level 6 carpark building in Air Itam today.
Meanwhile, during a press conference on April 27, Chow announced that three prominent international semiconductor companies will invest more than US$100 million in Penang to strengthen the integrated circuit (IC) design and advanced packaging sectors here.
They are China Wafer Level CSP Co Ltd (WLCSP), Ningbo SJ Electronics Co Ltd (SJE) and Wuxi AMTE Inc (AMTE).
Earlier, during PHC’s annual Raya Open House, its staff and several state representatives, including Lim, state Housing and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Seri Sundarajoo and Air Itam assemblyman Joseph Ng participated in the event.
Story by Kevin Vimal
Pix by Noor Siti Nabilah Noorazis
Video by Siew Chia En