KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's electrical and electronics (E&E) sector is expected to contribute RM120 billion to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generate RM495 billion in export earnings by 2025 as Malaysia continues to attract high-quality investments and is expected to uphold its growth trajectory.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) deputy chief executive officer of Investment Promotion and Facilitation Sivasuriyamoorthy Sundar Raja said that for the first half of 2022 (H1 2022), the manufacturing sector attracted RM43.1 billion in investments.
"Among the sub-sectors of the Malaysian manufacturing industry, E&E proves its mettle and robustness by continuously attracting the highest number of investments.
"During this period, the industry recorded a total of RM19.49 billion in approved investments and we expect to generate over 13,000 job opportunities, including highly skilled positions such as managerial, engineers and technicians," he said during his opening speech at the Malaysia National Electrical and Electronics Forum 2022, here today.
Sivasuriyamoorthy said the E&E industry is integral to the manufacturing sector and serves as a vital element to the nation's economic prosperity.
"The sector is also a veritable cornerstone of the global semiconductor industry, producing 13 per cent of the world's back-end semiconductors in 2021, with exports accounting for 40 per cent of total national output.
Sivasuriyamoorthy said some of the most prestigious and innovative electronics businesses in the world, such as Intel, STMicroelectronics, Infineon and others have increased their presence in Malaysia.
"MIDA is committed to building a resilient and sustainable electronics supply chain in the ASEAN region.
"Apart from local industry players, we are expanding the benefits of our manufacturing ecosystem to global businesses and brands," he said.
Sivasuriyamoorthy said that up until early this year, the biggest challenge facing the global semiconductor industry was shortages, mainly triggered by soaring demand for electronic consumer products, such as PCs and smartphones, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said US-China trade tensions also added difficulties for some global semiconductor players and resulted in global supply chain disruptions.
"To further strengthen the semiconductor supply chain, Malaysia has signed the US-Malaysia Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in May 2022 on Semiconductor Supply Chain Resilience, which aims to provide guiding principles for both our nations," he added.
Sivasuriyamoorthy said MIDA is committed to building resilient and sustainable electronics supply chains in the ASEAN region.
"Apart from local industry players, we are expanding the benefits of our manufacturing ecosystem to global businesses and brands.
"The growing participation and research and development efforts in the different layers of our domestic and foreign investors will also enhance the industry's value chain," he added.
He said businesses could capitalise on the E&E sector's potential growth, which will further boost the nation's economy with the correct strategies and knowledge.
– BERNAMA