Malaysia's success in attracting investment for the final stages of the semiconductor production process will likely continue in the coming years, but its push to move up the value chain will prove challenging amid labor shortages and rising U.S.-China tensions. In recent months, industry leaders from the United States such as Intel, NVIDIA, Texas Instruments, Applied Materials, Lam Research, Micron and Hewlett Packard have committed billions of dollars to establishing or expanding their presence in Malaysia, many of them with a focus on the chip industry. The phenomenon goes beyond U.S companies, as Infineon (Germany), Bosch (Germany), AT&S (Austria), Ericsson (Sweden) and Simmtech (South Korea) are likewise rushing to the country, with much of this activity taking place in the past 18 months. In 2023, Malaysia became the top exporter of semiconductors to the United States. Chinese companies -- particularly those that make machinery for semiconductor manufacturing -- are also...
