KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 — Foreign investors remain confident in Malaysia’s thriving and vibrant electrical and electronic products (E&E) ecosystem that has enabled much technology creation in the country to produce indispensable, complex and high-tech products, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

This is reflected in the newly-formed technological collaboration between Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Istanbul-based Tuyar Mikroelektronic in the semiconductor industry, he said.

"This (the collaboration) will benefit not only Silterra but other E&E players in Malaysia as well.

"Malaysia will now able to export our technical know-how and manufacturing expertise to assist Turkey,” the minister said in his latest post on Twitter.

Azmin is part of the delegation led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who arrived on Tuesday for a four-day official visit. He accompanied the prime minister at a meeting with Silterra chairman Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin and Tuyar chairman Prof Sezai Elagoz that was held this morning.

In his social media post, Azmin noted that it is encouraging that Tuyar and several other high-tech E&E companies have chosen Malaysia as their base of operations and technology transfer, manifesting clearly why the country remains a preferred investment destination.

Silterra and Tuyar have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore collaboration in technology development and manufacturing in the semiconductor industry, with the Malaysian chipmaker assisting the latter to develop the base technology and to manufacture in Silterra.

Azmin said the collaboration would involve potential investment by Tuyar, a pioneer in the formation of the integrated circuit design and production system in Turkey, in process engineering development and also in equipment and capacity to manufacture wafer for the company.

"In the longer term, Silterra would assist Tuyar to develop the local capability in the semiconductor industry in Turkey,” he said.

Azmin said the collaboration would also benefit Malaysia’s machine and equipment manufacturers as well as create opportunities for other local vendors, thus further adding value to domestic supply chain.

He said the prime minister has expressed his enthusiasm on the potential collaboration and reiterated that the government is fully supportive of these initiatives through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) and Malaysian Investment Development Authority.

On another note, Azmin said a productive discussion was held with Dr Tarik Var, chief executive officer of Istanbul Shipyard — a leader in the Turkish shipbuilding industry — to further explore business opportunities in Malaysia.

He shared that the company is exploring more potential collaborations with the Malaysian defence and shipbuilding players, including cooperation with the Royal Malaysian Navy and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, with a proposed investment value of about RM1 billion in five years.

"The prime minister has reiterated the need for Malaysian companies to collaborate with the right partners in developing the shipbuilding industry in Malaysia.

"I express that these initiatives are in line with the National Investment Aspirations as the government through Miti is committed to developing the shipbuilding ecosystem amongst the small and medium enterprises and to encourage the transfer of technology,” he added. — Bernama