KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 25 –– Malaysia is strengthening ties with international markets to avoid a strict bifurcation of the global semiconductor supply chain, particularly as more protectionist measures may be in store following Donald Trump’s victory in the United States (US) presidential election.

Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong affirmed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Malaysian delegation have worked hard to build ties between the Malaysian semiconductor industry and the Brazilian semiconductor industry through Anwar’s recent working visit to the Latin American country.

"The Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) is also in talks with its counterpart in the Netherlands, while the government is working with Asean member states on the semiconductor industry.

"We are also talking to Saudi Arabia in a very serious manner. (This is the strategy), so that we can avoid a strict bifurcation of the global supply chain,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the MSIA National Electrical and Electronics (E&E) Forum 2024 here today.

Liew also said that as the world’s sixth largest semiconductor exporter, Malaysia holds a seven per cent share of the global market and contributed to 23 per cent of US semiconductor trade in 2022.

"The world is still very much exporting to the US, and we hope that we can work with the US in a very close manner,” he said.

President-elect Trump, who is set to be inaugurated on January 20, is expected to prepare for a second act. His first administration saw him swiftly implementing tariffs to protect the US economy and address trade imbalances.

Asked on the possibility of a drop in semiconductor export numbers to the US due to protectionism, Liew noted that the government will continuously monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, MSIA president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai said the association expects the industry to achieve a single-digit growth next year, driven by global economic trends.

"We have received strong E&E investments this year. Our E&E exports for the first 10 months — from January to October 2024 — totalled RM491 billion, up 1.5 per cent compared to last year. I am still hoping that it will breach RM600 billion,” he said during his opening speech at the forum earlier.

It was reported that global semiconductor sales dipped 8.2 per cent to US$527 billion (US$1 = RM4.47) in 2023. Malaysia’s E&E sector exports decreased by 3.0 per cent last year to RM575.45 billion after a record year of 30 per cent growth in 2022 to RM593 billion. –– Bernama