Putting new energy into E&E sector
MALAYSIA'S
electrical and electronics industry will soon restore its sparkle in the
manufacturing sector as old-time investors shift into the new gadget markets.
"Be assured that the shine is still very much
there and we will get back ahead of the curve," says Malaysian Investment
Development Authority (Mida) chief executive officer Datuk Noharuddin Nordin.
"The
momentum has to be stepped up though, and Mida is strengthening its capability
further - not only in facilitating but also leading the changes with incentive
packages for companies to speed up the adaptation," he said.
Many
of these companies, which are large manufacturing facilities, have got into the
act by converting into logistics hub for their global operations.
Mida can play the role of policy advocacy as it
assists those companies that have ventured into gadgets in the realms of health
and finance, among others.
Noharuddin
said E&E will continue to remain relevant and reign as a major contributor
to the gross domestic product in the medium term, providing employment
opportunities as well as increased opportunities for local companies.
"We talk about ecosystems these days and there
are emerging sectors that Malaysia is making good rogress in, and integrating
them into the already diverse ecosystem."
Top on the list are solar photovoltaic technology and
light emitting diodes (LEDs), which currently enjoy a 20 per cent annual growth
globally.
"We
have a strong base of companies poised to capture global growth in their
manufacturing capacity."
Another
interesting development within the local semiconductor and LED clusters is a
growing number of local companies undertaking R&D and manufacturing for
multinational corporations.
Unlike FDIs, these developments are categorised under
the services industry, which means the figures will be captured under the balance
of payments.
Last
year, the size of investments in the E&E sector shrank to RM3.98 billion
from RM20.06 billion in 2011 but this is a transition that Malaysia is prepared
to go through as it turns away labour intensive-type investments.
"Efforts have been put forth to further
strengthen and move up the value chain of the industry through intensification
of R&D and outsource non-core activities domestically."
Through the Collaborative Research in Engineering,
Science and Technology Centre, R&D projects have taken off.
Noharuddin
said domestic players have also taken a major step in moving up the value
chain, not only in the downstream part, but also the front-end and back-end
activities in the R&D and manufacturing of intermediate products, such as
LED packages and thermal substrates.
Four decades ago, the industry attracted seven players
- Clarion and Bosch ( consumer products) and AMD, HP, Intel, Litronix and
National Semiconductor (components), which gave rise to a labour-intensive
industry.
"Most
of that has changed and what is desired is the futuristic fablite, fabless,
miniaturisation, flexible electronics, electric vehicle, laser video display,
cryogenic and SMART electronics, to name a few," Noharuddin said.
As
manpower requirements still tops foreign investors' demands, Mida has stepped
in to help fulfil these needs.
There
are also the generous R&D and training grants extended to companies to
continue to "improvise" the quality of human capital.
Source: New Straits Times
Date: 1 April 2013
Afternoon
Highlight (01/04/13/52/750)
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