Semiconductor Competition Gets More Intense With Thailand’s Involvement

Competition for semiconductor dominance heats up with Thailand joining the ring. This came after Vietnam declares match with Malaysia, who plans to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park and will offer incentives including tax breaks, subsidies and visa exemption fees to attract global tech companies and investors.

The Nation Thailand reported the country’s economic ministers discussed sending Thai students to train in Taiwan to counter lack of advanced skills. The government plans to establish a national semiconductor board to set investment and development strategies for this vital industry, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said on 14 June 2024.

Speaking after the meeting of economic ministers chaired by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Monday, Pichai said the setting up of the semiconductor board will help attract foreign investments and push Thailand’s economic expansion to meet the goal of 5% annually. He added that Thailand already lagged behind other countries in the region in having a national committee dedicated to the semiconductor industry, which is crucial to the country’s future investment plan.

Pichai said the meeting also discussed the concerns of foreign investors and entrepreneurs regarding lack of advanced skills among Thai workers. The meeting proposed cooperating with factories and universities in Taiwan to send Thai students to train and improve their electronics skills, so they can fulfil market demand as soon as they graduate.

The Finance Minister cited a report from the Board of Investment (BOI) stating that the agency has been promoting investment in the electronics industry, which is being driven by the trend of production base relocation to mitigate risks from geopolitical conflicts.

The BOI said there has been significant investment in both electric vehicle and semiconductor industries, and encouraged the government to help create facilitating ecosystems for both industries in Thailand. This can be done by attracting entrepreneurs in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, such as chip production, electronics design, subcontract manufacturing, and testing of advanced chips to establish their facilities in the kingdom, said the BOI report.

The move would help increase the industry’s value and create high-skilled jobs for Thai workers, said the BOI, adding that negotiations with global companies to support the move are already underway. The government started hosting a weekly meeting of economic ministers last week in response to underwhelming economic growth in the first quarter of this year of only 1.5%.

Malaysia’s IC Design Park Plan And Vietnam’s Chip Ambition

Malaysia earlier announced her mission to be Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park last April. Now, Vietnam joins the competition for the same crown, with the support from an American semiconductor titan – Marvell Technology Inc.

Marvell Technology, Inc., a titan in data infrastructure semiconductor solutions, accelerated the growth of its workforce and presence in Vietnam in the past year since the company announced plans to expand R&D, engineering and design activities in the country. Marvell committed to 50% growth of its workforce in Vietnam in three years, a target shared by the company during last year’s U.S.-Vietnam Innovation and Investment Summit attended by Marvell Chairman and CEO Matt Murphy.

Today, Marvell is ahead of its plans, achieving more than 30% growth in just eight months. Marvell has also expanded its physical footprint in Vietnam with a new location in Da Nang, adding to its offices in Ho Chi Minh City. The growth of its footprint demonstrates the company’s commitment to creating a world-class semiconductor design hub in the country.

It will be an intense competition within ASEAN when semiconductor is now acknowledged to be the key edge in the manufacturing world.

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