MALAYSIA LAUNCHES SOUTHEAST ASIA'S FIRST ADVANCED CHIP TESTING CENTRE, KEY DRIVER OF IC PARK 2

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 6 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has charted another milestone in the semiconductor industry with the launch of the Advanced Chip Testing Centre officiated by Prime Minister Seri Anwar Ibrahim today, in conjunction with the launch of the Malaysia Semiconductor IC Design Park 2 (IC Park 2) located at CoPlace 9, Cyberjaya.

Also present at the event was Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, who said that the centre would become the first world-class chip testing facility in the Southeast Asian region.

In a statement, the Selangor Information Technology & Digital Economy Corporation (Sidec) said the centre would also serve as a key catalyst in Malaysia’s efforts to build a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem, from chip design to testing and validation.

“The Advanced Chip Testing Centre is part of the national strategy to transform Malaysia from merely being a contract chip manufacturer into a designer and owner of local chip technology,” the statement said.

Sidec pointed out that the facility would focus on several divisions, namely Advanced Chip Inspection, Test and Metrology Centre (AIM); Advanced Chip Design, Emulation and Prototype Centre; Advanced Chip Validation and Robotics Centre; and Advanced Chip Research and Training Centre.

According to Sidec, among the international and local partners involved in the initiative are Arm, Synopsys, AWS, Keysight, Tektronix, Cadence, Sicada, QES, Tekmark, ICESB, CADFEM, DF Automation, IIT Madras, and the Shenzhen Xinhou Research Centre, all of which will jointly develop a research lab ecosystem under IC Park 2.    

"With sophisticated infrastructure and global industry expertise, the centre will accelerate the chip development cycle, hence, reducing the dependence on overseas testing facilities," said the statement.

Sidec said that IC Park 2 in Cyberjaya is a continuation of the success of the first IC Park in Puchong, launched in August 2024, and currently houses 14 companies with more than 200 local and international engineers.

It added that choosing Cyberjaya as the location was a strategic and timely move, given the city’s high concentration of technology companies and its ideal environment for collaboration and innovation, promising significant spillover benefits for ecosystem players.  

Sidec informed that Cyberview Sdn Bhd, the developer of Cyberjaya’s technology hub, plays an important role in developing the nation’s innovation landscape and fully supports the initiative through attractive incentives offered to agencies to strengthen Cyberjaya’s position as Malaysia’s high-impact technology development centre.

"This latest phase in Cyberjaya will not only expand the research and development space but will also house the Advanced Semiconductor Malaysia Academy (ASEM), an advanced training centre aimed to produce 20,000 semiconductor engineers within 10 years,” according to the statement.

Sidec added that the launch event also celebrated the graduation of seven semiconductor training cohorts under ASEM, involving hundreds of engineering students who had completed intensive programmes with industries

-- BERNAMA