THE INVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF ULTRA CLEAN HOLDINGS, INC. (UCT)

 

SPEECH BY THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW ON THE OCCASION OF THE INVESTMENT ANNOUNCEMENT OF ULTRA CLEAN HOLDINGS, INC. (UCT) IN KOMTAR, GEORGE TOWN, PENANG

30 JULY 2020

 

 

YB Professor Dr. Ramasamy a/l Palanisamy

Deputy Chief Minister (II) of Penang

 

YB Dato’ Haji Abdul Halim bin Haji Hussain

EXCO for Domestic & International Trade, Consumer Affairs and Entrepreneurship Development

 

Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon

Special Investment Advisor to Chief Minister of Penang     

             

 

Dato’ Loo Lee Lian

CEO of InvestPenang

 

 

Dato’ Yeoh Lean Huat

Senior Deputy General Manager, Penang Development Corporation

 

 

En. Aziz bin Bakar

Deputy General Manager, Penang Development Corporation

Good morning.

I am pleased to announce that United States-headquartered Ultra Clean Holdings, Inc. (UCT), as part of its expansion, will be setting up a manufacturing facility in Batu Kawan Industrial Park, Penang.

On behalf of the Penang State Government, I am delighted to welcome the announcement of this investment made by the UCT leadership in the United States earlier today.

UCT is a major industry player in the fluid delivery critical subsystem within the semiconductor supply chain, which supplies to the wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) players. UCT is ranked among the top ten suppliers of critical subsystems to the semiconductor and related manufacturing industries in 2019, with the total critical subsystems revenue estimated at US$11 billion in 2019.

The company’s new facility will be its latest addition to the existing sites in the United States, Singapore, China, Czech Republic and the Philippines. Construction of UCT’s 340,000 square foot facility is estimated to begin by the end of this year. The new facility will create more than 650 jobs over the next five years, including roles in manufacturing, engineering, research and development as well as quality management.

The State government would like to express its deepest appreciation to UCT for choosing Penang for this latest expansion. Undoubtedly, UCT’s strategic investment is a testament of Penang having gained momentum in attracting investments from leading players in the front-end equipment global supply chain.

This is a milestone in Penang’s industry transformation journey and evidence of how major strategic investments translate into technology and economic spillovers. With Penang’s robust ecosystem in back-end equipment and automation areas, the addition of front-end equipment supply chain would power Penang further to serve the industry’s end-to-end needs.

On the industry outlook, according to SEMI, a global industry association that represents the electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, global semiconductor equipment sales by original equipment manufacturers is estimated to increase 6% to US$63.2 billion in 2020 and expected to reach US$70 billion in 2021.

 

Penang – Silicon Valley of the East

In the first quarter of 2020, Penang attracted RM7.1 billion of total approved manufacturing investment. This includes RM6.8 billion of foreign direct investments (FDI) or 64% of Malaysia’s total manufacturing FDI, the highest among the states in Malaysia.

From 2010 to March 2020, Penang attracted a combined RM58.5 billion approved manufacturing investments from E&E and M&E industries, representing 39% of Malaysia’s total approved investment in the two promoted industries.

Penang, the Silicon Valley of the East, is undoubtedly the key pillar to Malaysia’s external trade, especially in the E&E industry. Essentially, Penang recorded a trade surplus of RM99 billion in 2019, representing 72% of Malaysia’s total trade surplus for the period, which is largely contributed by the E&E sector.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express the State government’s appreciation to the Federal Government, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) for working hand-in-hand with InvestPenang in attracting this investment. I also applaud InvestPenang and Penang Development Corporation for their tenacity and hard work in facilitating this investment.

 

Closing Remark

In closing, I wish to once again congratulate Ultra Clean Holdings on this significant investment in Penang. The State government wishes the company continuous growth and success, and I look forward to strengthening the partnership between the State and UCT for many years to come.

Thank you.