Take advantage of semiconductor chip shortage, Penang firms told

GEORGE TOWN – Penang’s large local companies (LLCs), and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should take advantage of the current global shortage of semiconductor chips by reinvesting and boosting their capacity to meet demand, according to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

The shortage, which some industry analysts are predicting to last over several months, was sparked by the Covid-19 disruption into the global supply chain and the rise in dependency on digital equipment.

Chow said it is timely for Penang-based LLCs and SMEs to upscale their production capacity, and expand their footprint to help the world cope with the surging demand for electronic or electrical chips.

“In fact, some LLCs can also upgrade themselves to become multinational corporations in their own right. 

“I know of one LLC that has set up a production plant in the United States to meet the demand. We must move along those lines,” Chow said after witnessing domestic direct investments by three LLCs at Penang Development Corporation (PDC).

The three LLCs – Greatech Technology Bhd, Pentamaster Corporation Bhd, and UWC Bhd – are expanding in Penang with a combined total investment of RM520 million, creating up to 1,800 job opportunities in the state.

The three companies are household names in Penang for machinery and equipment manufacturing, and they have rebounded in a big way after Covid-19 impaired their ability to operate over the past 18 months.

But Chow said manufacturing services are now considered essential, so they will operate at full capacity despite the light presence of a movement control order (MCO).

Chow said Penang is already acknowledged worldwide as a key component of the global supply chain, so it is natural for companies established here to grow in tandem with the reliance on electronics and electrics.

In view of the continued shortage, Chow said PDC plans to create more industrial space by expanding its Batu Kawan Free Industrial Zone Phase II and Phase III.

Phase III, according to PDC chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Bazid Abd Kahar, will comprise a logistic hub with many warehousing facilities and a connection to the infrastructure.

Chow also invited investors to explore the industrial ecology that Penang has set up, so they can tap into the global supply chain. – The Vibes, November 5, 2021