Chinese chip company comes to Malaysia.
According to Reuters, more and more companies in the country of billions of people choose Malaysia as the assembly place for high-end chip models. The source said the orders include some graphics processing units (GPUs) and lines requiring advanced assembly processes.
GPUs are an essential component in developing supercomputer systems and AI models. Previously, the US issued restrictions to prevent China's access to advanced chip-making technology. After the explosion of AI recently, Chinese semiconductor companies are struggling to be able to produce chips independently.
Assembly and packaging are two of the final stages of semiconductor chip manufacturing and have a low-value content. This work does not currently violate any US regulations. However, according to sources, looking to Malaysia is a way for Chinese chip design companies to prepare for the future. If the US can expand the ban to prevent China's ability to develop AI, and at the same time, it can easily do business outside markets. With the chiplet trend, which means packaging multiple chips into one to increase performance, packaging is becoming increasingly important to the semiconductor industry.
Unisem, a company specializing in packaging and testing chips in Malaysia, whose largest shareholder is Huatian Technology, said it is receiving increasing orders from China.
"Due to sanctions and supply chain issues, many companies have come to Malaysia to establish supply sources, helping them do domestic and international business," said Unisem Chairman John Chia. He also confirmed that this is entirely legal. In addition, the majority of Unisem's customers are still American companies.
Malaysia currently accounts for 13% of the global semiconductor packaging, assembly, and testing market and aims to increase the proportion to 15% by 2030. This country's semiconductor industry is considered an affordable, experienced workforce with sophisticated equipment.
Several Chinese chip companies have announced plans to expand operations here. In particular, Xfusion, a former unit of Huawei, said it would cooperate with Malaysia's NationGate to produce servers for data centers, high-performance computing, and AI. StarFive, headquartered in Shanghai, is also building a design center in Penang, while TongFu Microelectronic expanded its facility in Malaysia through a joint venture with chipmaker AMD.
Malaysia and some other companies, such as JCET Group, the world's third-largest chip packaging company, acquired an advanced testing facility in Singapore in 2021.
GPUs are an essential component in developing supercomputer systems and AI models. Previously, the US issued restrictions to prevent China's access to advanced chip-making technology. After the explosion of AI recently, Chinese semiconductor companies are struggling to be able to produce chips independently.
Assembly and packaging are two of the final stages of semiconductor chip manufacturing and have a low-value content. This work does not currently violate any US regulations. However, according to sources, looking to Malaysia is a way for Chinese chip design companies to prepare for the future. If the US can expand the ban to prevent China's ability to develop AI, and at the same time, it can easily do business outside markets. With the chiplet trend, which means packaging multiple chips into one to increase performance, packaging is becoming increasingly important to the semiconductor industry.
Unisem, a company specializing in packaging and testing chips in Malaysia, whose largest shareholder is Huatian Technology, said it is receiving increasing orders from China.
"Due to sanctions and supply chain issues, many companies have come to Malaysia to establish supply sources, helping them do domestic and international business," said Unisem Chairman John Chia. He also confirmed that this is entirely legal. In addition, the majority of Unisem's customers are still American companies.
Malaysia currently accounts for 13% of the global semiconductor packaging, assembly, and testing market and aims to increase the proportion to 15% by 2030. This country's semiconductor industry is considered an affordable, experienced workforce with sophisticated equipment.
Several Chinese chip companies have announced plans to expand operations here. In particular, Xfusion, a former unit of Huawei, said it would cooperate with Malaysia's NationGate to produce servers for data centers, high-performance computing, and AI. StarFive, headquartered in Shanghai, is also building a design center in Penang, while TongFu Microelectronic expanded its facility in Malaysia through a joint venture with chipmaker AMD.
Malaysia and some other companies, such as JCET Group, the world's third-largest chip packaging company, acquired an advanced testing facility in Singapore in 2021.
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