KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) and global sensors and emitters manufacturer ams Osram will continue mutual support for advanced light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing in Malaysia.

A joint statement said in August 2023, the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) and Mida officials visited ams Osram chief executive officer Aldo Kamper at the company’s headquarters in Premstaetten, Austria to understand the technology development approaches and the construction progress of its first fully-automated 8-inch microLED manufacturing facility in Kulim, Malaysia.

Miti secretary-general Datuk Seri Isham Ishak and Mida CEO Datuk Wira Arham Abdul Rahman were accompanied by government officials, the statement said. ams Osram has been in Malaysia for over 50 years.

The statement said construction of the state-of-the-art and fully-automated facility started in 2022, making the company a pioneer. The build-out and installation is progressing as planned, the statement said.

The statement said a Mida-ams Osram collaborative agreement solidifies the investment in Malaysia with substantial employment opportunities for Malaysians in the science and technical field. The agreement also facilitates and supports ams Osram to carry out innovation programmes.

"With the support of Mida, ams Osram will continue to closely collaborate with local public research institutes, universities, colleges, and vendor development programmes to advance technologies and implement use cases for Industry 4.0,” the statement said.

Datuk Seri Isham Ishak said ams Osram’s investment underscores the economic partnership between Germany and Malaysia, and that Miti and Mida will seek more wafer fabrication players and their supply chain to consider Malaysia as a production site.

"Malaysia’s aspiration is to become a global hub for business, innovation, and talent in advanced manufacturing, which aligns with our recently launched New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP 2030),” he said.

Datuk Wira Arham said the facility being built currently aligns with the type of investment Malaysia wants to attract.

"It anchors highly sophisticated manufacturing at the cutting edge of technology, positioning us at critical nodes in global supply chains,” he said.

Meanwhile, CEO Aldo Kamper said the company will continue to develop cutting-edge technology and the corresponding manufacturing processes to industrialise these technologies at scale. — Bernama