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INSIDE ASEAN: MALAYSIA

As Malaysia’s chip goals morph into a multi-state model, are they outgrowing Penang?

The next semiconductor leap hinges on design, advanced packaging, talent and a stronger pipeline of home-grown tech companies

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Tan Ai Leng

Tan Ai Leng

Published Wed, Sep 16, 2026 · 07:00 AM
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    • Intel Malaysia's Penang facility. The country’s chip ambitions have become too large and technologically diverse to be contained within a single state.
    • Intel Malaysia's Penang facility. The country’s chip ambitions have become too large and technologically diverse to be contained within a single state. PHOTO: INTEL MALAYSIA

    [KUALA LUMPUR] When AT&S, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of advanced circuit boards and integrated circuit (IC) substrates, was considering Malaysia for its next-generation substrate plant in 2020, Penang seemed to be the natural choice.

    There was just one obstacle: finding a site large enough.

    The Austrian electronics manufacturer instead crossed the state border to Kulim about 40 km away, where it secured the land, infrastructure and utilities needed for a plant that now produces IC substrates for AMD’s high-performance computing products.

    Inside Asean: MalaysiaMalaysiaSemiconductorsAseanAsean Business

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