The Malaysian Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) aims for semiconductor exports to reach RM1.2 trillion by 2030.
MSIA president, Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai said the target strengthened Malaysia's position as the world's sixth largest exporter, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% of the current export value.
In his speech at the Tech in Asia 2024 Conference, Malaysia needs to focus on increasing capabilities across the semiconductor value chain including advanced packaging, integrated circuit (IC) design and smart manufacturing.
He also said that the government needs to work with the local industry to deal with the existing challenges, especially the lack of manpower and talent.
In producing talent, the government and industry need to work together to train and produce more local talent such as scholarships, disciplinary training programs and university collaboration.
MSIA targets as many as 300,000 local talents and 60,000 of them need to focus on technical fields such as material scientists and chemists.
In addition, currently the semiconductor industry needs to use talent from other countries to fill gaps in the country's talent base.
Malaysia's semiconductor industry has 10,000 to 20,000 foreign talents especially in science and engineering and offers them to work here.
In 2023, Malaysia's semiconductor exports fell 3% to RM575.45 billion from the 2022 record of RM593 billion.
