KUALA LUMPUR – Texas Instruments (TI) is investing RM14.6 billion to expand its operations in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka with production in both locations expected to begin as early as 2025.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the US-headquartered semiconductor company’s RM9.6 billion investment in Kuala Lumpur would create 1,300 local jobs while RM5 billion set to be invested in Melaka would create 500 local jobs.
“TI plans to expand its assembly and test operations to reflect Malaysia’s clear positioning in the global semiconductor supply chain while complementing our New Investment Policy and New Industrial Master Plan’s focus on attracting hi-tech, high-value investments to support our increasingly digitised global and domestic economies,” he posted on Twitter today.
In a separate statement, the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) said these new investments would support TI’s plan to bring 90% of its assembly and test operations internal by 2030 to have greater control of supply.
Mida said the announced expansion reflected the joint efforts of TI and the Malaysian government, especially the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) and Mida, to reinforce Malaysia’s standing in the semiconductor industry and the initiatives aimed to drive economic growth, attract investments and foster knowledge exchange, contributing to the country’s overall development.
It said the timing of the expansion also aligned with Malaysia’s broader strategy of strengthening the semiconductor industry’s ecosystem and driving economic growth.
Chief executive officer Datuk Arham Abdul Rahman said Mida is fully dedicated to supporting TI’s expansion plans, which would not only bring significant investments but also enhanced analogue and embedded processing manufacturing capabilities to the country.
“This partnership further solidifies Malaysia’s position as a leading hub in the region for semiconductor innovation,” he said.
Meanwhile, TI’s vice president, assembly and test manufacturing operations, Yogannaidu Sivanchalam said these investments are part of TI’s long-term strategy to expand its internal manufacturing capacity to support the increasing need for semiconductors and provide greater assurance of supply.
“TI is proud to have been operating in Malaysia for more than 50 years and our decision to expand our back-end manufacturing is a reflection of the talented and growing team in Malaysia that will be critical to TI’s future,” he said.
On the expansion, Mida said TI had recently purchased the building next to its existing assembly and test factory in Kuala Lumpur that sat on 7.28ha of land, which the company planned to convert into an assembly and test factory with more than one million square feet of cleanroom space.
It said the construction is expected to start later this year with production to begin as early as 2025.
MIDA said TI is also constructing a new, six-level assembly and test factory next to its existing assembly and test factory in Melaka which would include more than 400,000 sq ft of cleanroom space and would connect to TI’s existing factory.
It said at full production, TI’s new, state-of-the-art factories in Malaysia would feature advanced factory automation to assemble and test hundreds of millions of analogue and embedded processing chips daily that would go into electronics everywhere, from renewable energy sources to electric vehicles.
“At both factories, environmentally responsible construction methods that emphasise an energy-efficient design will be used to meet one of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system’s highest levels of structural efficiency and sustainability, LEED Gold.
“Advanced equipment in the factories will reduce waste, water and energy consumption per chip, further demonstrating TI’s commitment to responsible, sustainable manufacturing,” it added. – Bernama, June 13, 2023
