Silicon, silicon, silicon chips

• Malaysia to invest RM1.1 bil to foray into the chip design space
• TSMC to invest USD100 bil in the US
• Li Ka Shing just sold its port business to Blackrock and MSC for USD22.8 bil?

IN Malaysia

One small step for the Madani Government, one big leap for the semiconductor industry

PM Anwar Ibrahim led the Madani Government’s aspiration to become a chip powerhouse is getting closer as instead of foreign companies opening factories in the country, Malaysia itself is set to invest about RM1.1 bil over 10 years to acquire intellectual property from UK semiconductor design firm Arm Holdings, whose technology powers nearly all of the world’s smartphones. This decision will transition the country’s semiconductor industry towards the coveted chip design segment, beyond chip assembly. Malaysia would invest directly in Arm’s IP to make it available to local firms to accelerate their entry into the advanced chipmaking sector. As a spillover from this deal, about 10,000 highly skilled workers in integrated circuit design will be trained by Arm’s experts. Quoting Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli - ‘We don’t want factories any more; we want IPs’.

Source: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3300609/malaysias-digital-economy-ambition-faces-disconnect-workplace-and-schools?module=perpetual_scroll_1_RM&pgtype=article

Regarding the matter, PM Anwar stated that the deal with Arm marks the second semiconductor wave for the country, as the country looks forward to the first ‘Made In Malaysia’ chips in the next five years. Malaysia’s first semiconductor wave was back in 1972 when US-based Intel invested RM100 mil to open a 5-acre assembly plant in Penang.

Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/categories/world

Shorts

• Ministry of Finance has revealed to the Parliament that a sum of RM12.7 bil is recorded as the total unclaimed money (WTD), as of January 31 this year. WTD includes three categories: funds owed to individuals but unpaid for over a year, such as salaries and insurance claims; inactive accounts not operated for at least seven years, and dormant trade accounts with no activity for over two years. Eligible individuals or heirs please claim your funds online via eGUMIS, or else the fund will go towards the Government’s coffers. Based on the current estimation, the RM12.7 bil could buy about 40 Ferrari 250 GTOs (costing about USD70 mil each). That would make an impressive lineup of official Putrajaya cars for the ministers that could even make our Singaporean friends envy.

Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/746808

• Putrajaya recently unveiled the Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage Bill 2025 (CCUS Bill 2025) that would catalyse the carbon capture industry. However, the bill only applies to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, which excludes Sabah and Sarawak, which houses prolific offshore hydrocarbon basins in the country and could be used to store captured carbon. Malaysia’s first carbon capture project is located in Sarawak, namely the Kasawari carbon capture and storage (CCS) project — which could be the world’s largest offshore CCS project, and the first by national oil company Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas).

Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/746683

Around the S.E.A.

?The US semiconductor industry is also laden with news

• US President Donald Trump announced that Taiwan-based TSMC will invest a whopping additional USD100 bil to build five additional chip facilities stateside in the coming years. TSMC said the expansion included plans for three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities and a major research and development centre. However, under this deal, the Taiwan Government has promised that its most advanced semiconductor technology will not be moved to the US. At the moment, TSMC has the ability to produce the cutting-edge 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer chips. To show you how thin the chips are, for your information, human hair is about 80,000 - 10,0000 nanometers thick.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/tsmc-ceo-meet-with-trump-tout-investment-plans-2025-03-03/

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/04/taiwan-trump-semiconductor-deal-tsmc

• In his address to the US Congress, President Trump is scrapping Biden-era the Chips and Science Act, citing that the Act is a ‘horrible, horrible thing’. The decision was made by Washington even though the USD52 bil Act has spurred more than USD400 bil in investments from companies like TSMC and Intel Corp. The Chips Act is among the most significant US forays into industrial policy in more than a generation. It set aside USD39 bil in grants — plus loans and 25% tax breaks, as well as USD11 bil for chip research and development. The aim was to reduce reliance on Asia for electronic components that power everything from smartphones to massive data centres. It’s okay, US losses are the SEA gains.

Source: https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/746806

Li-Ka Shing might just do the deal of the century

In an effort to avoid the wrath of US President Donald Trump via its tariffs etc., Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing via its company, CK Hutchison has just clinched a deal with BlackRock and Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) to sell 80% of its giant ports division for USD22.8 bil in a record-breaking ports transaction that covers 43 ports comprising 199 berths in 23 countries. The deal marks the departure of Li from the industry, which he was the original global pioneer, amidst the return of Trump to the White House. MSC’s acquisition – and its new status as a standalone operator of the main east-west trades – will likely result in a rejigging of its global network to call at its newly acquired terminals.

Source: https://splash247.com/li-ka-shing-steps-back-from-ports-sells-to-msc-and-blackrock/

For your EYES only

Some of you are just not meant to cook.