South East Asian countries should strive to build more semiconductor manufacturing plants over the next decade to support the sector, diversify, and reduce risks related to the supply chain, the head of the global industrial group SEMI said on Tuesday.
SEMI’s general director, Ajit Manocha, stated that 64 new production units are expected to become operational in Asia by 2029, but only six of them would be located in the southeast of the continent, with the rest mainly concentrated in China and Taiwan.
The lack of geographical diversity poses challenges for the industry given geopolitical issues and other vulnerabilities, Mr. Manocha indicated at a sector forum in Kuala Lumpur, without going into details.
‘We want to see more poles develop in countries sharing similar orientations, in order to limit risks related to vulnerabilities,’ he affirmed, adding that it was ‘crucial for South East Asia to step up the pace’.
SEMI represents around 3,000 member companies worldwide, including design and manufacturing giants like Intel and AMD.
Recent disruptions in the global semiconductor supply chain, including the COVID-19 pandemic as well as export restrictions stemming from trade tensions between the United States and China, have raised concerns about the risks of concentrating the production of advanced chips in a limited number of Asian regions.
(Reporting by Danial Azhar; editing by Rozanna Latiff; editing by David Stanway)
