SEMICON SOUTHEAST ASIA 2022
OPENING ADDRESS BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
MR CHOW KON YEOW
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG
SEMICON SOUTHEAST ASIA 2022
21 June 2022
Setia SPICE Convention Centre
YBhg Datuk Hanafi Sakri, Senior Director, Industrial Development Division, Ministry of International Trade and Industry
YBhg Dato’ Arham Abdul Rahman, Chief Executive Officer, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA)
YBhg Dato’ Seri Lee Kah Choon, Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang
Mr. Ajit Manocha, President & Chief Executive Officer of SEMI Global
Mr. KC Ang, Chairman of SEMI Southeast Asia Regional Advisory Board (RAB)
Mr. Amarjit Sandhu, Corporate Vice-President of Micron
Ms. Linda Tan, President of SEMI Southeast Asia
Mr. Andrew Goh & Mr. Chong Chan Pin, Vice-Chairmen of RAB
Distinguished guests,
Members of the press,
Ladies and gentlemen.
Good morning, everyone.
It is my pleasure to be here today for the long-awaited return of SEMICON Southeast Asia 2022. Allow me to take this opportunity to welcome everyone to Penang, the Silicon Valley of the East.
Being the region’s premier event for the global electronics manufacturing and design supply chain, Penang is honoured to host SEMICON SEA 2022, a return after our previous hosting in 2015 – 2017.
The theme for this year, ‘Forward as One – Building A Resilient and Sustainable Electronics Supply Chain in Southeast Asia’, is paramount in addressing the current agendas that are pertinent to the industry players, while aptly setting the tone for all visitors to exchange ideas and to connect.
With a list of comprehensive programmes mapped out over this three-day event, featuring the industry’s pressing matters and trends going forward, I am hopeful that SEMICON SEA 2022 can ignite the creation of innovative technologies and effective solutions, inspiring all stakeholders to forge ahead in this new and exciting era.
Ladies & gentlemen,
As the economic powerhouse of Malaysia, Penang has been making a name for itself, especially in the global electrical and electronics (E&E) sector. Despite being the second smallest state in Malaysia, Penang commanded over 5% of the global semiconductor sales and made up close to 60% of the country’s E&E exports. Penang is also known as a key regional hub for front-to-back-end equipment manufacturing, serving the needs of the E&E industry along the value chain.
The state’s well-developed E&E ecosystem not only enables us to move up the value chain, but also opens up countless opportunities in other areas. In this regard, Penang has become a hub for the medical device industry in this region, having the highest concentration of medical technology companies in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Penang’s world-class industrial parks equipped with excellent amenities have also strengthened our position as a strategic site for companies with a stake in advanced manufacturing, R&D and knowledge intensive Industry 4.0 operations. This, coupled with the state’s strong emphasis on sustainability, has rendered us the capacities and capabilities to support the needs of industrial players’ next generation technologies and growth strategies.
Penang is proud to be home to over 350 multinational companies and 4,000 SMEs. The strong linkages of the MNCs with our domestic economy has created numerous supply chain localisation opportunities for our homegrown players. I understand that there are exclusive tours to selected factories in Batu Kawan, on the mainland of Penang, as part of the agenda in SEMICON SEA 2022. For those who are visiting, do check out what the state has to offer.
Penang’s commendable performance that continues to punch above our weight has greatly demonstrated the state’s sustained excellence as the Silicon Valley of the East, making Penang a preferred site to host SEMICON SEA 2022.
Ladies & gentlemen,
The year 2022 is one of celebration for Penang as we step into our 50th anniversary of Industrialization. Holding onto the tagline ‘50 Years of Excellence and Beyond’, the state strives to uphold our conducive ecosystem capable of stimulating the advancement of strategic industries for the next 50 years and beyond.
Apart from playing a critical role in the country’s economy, Penang’s capital, George Town, is honourably regarded as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Penang Hill was also recently designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Being a hotspot for medical tourism, Penang is a key contributor for Malaysia’s frequent recognitions by the International Medical Travel Journal as “Medical Travel Destination of the Year”. Our cultural and food varieties, digital connectivity and well-developed infrastructure have firmly placed the state as the country’s most livable city, attracting nationwide talents to live, work, play and learn here.
The vibrant industry in Penang was not an overnight occurrence or by chance, but a culmination of strategic planning and execution. To remain competitive in the global arena, the Penang state government pledged to be the leader, the enabler and the propeller by offering a competent platform for players across different industries to participate and more importantly, to thrive.
Importantly, we acknowledge that incorporating tripartite Public-Private and People partnership is crucial in paving the way to becoming a high-income economy and creating quality jobs. On this note, I wish to assure all investors that the state government, through InvestPenang, Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and other relevant state machineries, is committed in providing unwavering support to our investors. Feel free to approach the teams from InvestPenang and PDC at their respective booths for investment enquiry over these three days.
To all attendees, I am most certain that you will have fruitful and rewarding exchanges from SEMICON SEA 2022. With that, I wish everyone a great success with this impactful conference and I look forward to learning about the outcomes.
Thank you.