KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Selangor is drafting the semiconductor industry area development plan to attract more investments, hence stimulating the state’s economic growth and developing more skilled workers.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the plan includes the development of a semiconductor park, which is currently being studied by Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated.

"The park will be developed in a new area. We are identifying the requirements as it must have features that meet the needs of the semiconductor industry,” he told reporters at a luncheon held by Invest Selangor during Semicon South-east Asia 2024 today.

Among industry players that have been established for decades in Selangor are Texas Instruments Malaysia Sdn Bhd and NXP Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

"Semiconductor is a sector that involves large investments and (focused in) several areas such as the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Sarawak, Penang and even Singapore.

"With the widespread excitement about artificial intelligence, I believe there is a large market with companies from China looking for overseas bases due to trade issues,” he said.

Earlier in his speech, Amirudin said Selangor’s recent foray into integrated circuit (IC) design aims to move Malaysia up the value chain from being just a bit-part player to strategic players in a large ecosystem.

"This initiative aims to train more than 300 engineers and we have already secured the interests of key operators but there are still golden opportunities for us to collaborate,” he said.

There are six new industrial parks spanning a total of 1,214 hectares being developed in Selangor according to the latest Selangor Managed Industrial Park (MIP) guidelines.

The MIP guidelines require new industrial parks to be developed with technologically advanced features such as a dedicated industrial park manager, highlighting the current requirements for international industrial parks while emphasising environmental, social, and governance suited for the semiconductor industry. — Bernama