Intel Corp is to spend US$7.1 billion building a new chip packaging facility in Malaysia, a major Asian investment intended to address an endemic global semiconductor shortage at a time when Washington is advocating domestic production.
The US chipmaker intends to invest 30 billion ringgit (US$7.1 billion) shoring up its advanced chip packaging capabilities in Penang state, Malaysia’s main investment promotion agency said in a statement on Monday.
The company plans to elaborate on its plans for the Asian nation at a news conference tomorrow in conjunction with Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Azmin Ali and Malaysian Investment Development Authority chief executive Arham Abdul Rahman, the statement said.
Photo: Reuters
The news conference is to coincide with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s first visit to Southeast Asia.
Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger took the helm of the largest US chipmaker in February with a mandate to take back leadership of the industry from Asian giants such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電).
Investors want Gelsinger to staunch market share losses and customer defections stemming in part from stumbles in upgrading technology.
At the same time, years of global industry underinvestment and a surge in demand for computing devices during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns have created an unprecedented shortage of the semiconductors needed in everything from automobiles to smartphones.
Gelsinger is in Taiwan and Malaysia this week for talks that underscore how Asian manufacturing would be crucial to his turnaround efforts. His trip is to include a meeting with TSMC, people familiar with his plans said.
Intel needs TSMC’s advanced manufacturing services, but it also plans to compete with the Taiwanese company in the foundry business, a tricky balancing act for Gelsinger.
Apart from Malaysia, Intel also operates a plant in Dalian, China.
It is Gelsinger’s first trip to Asia since taking the top job at Intel and comes as he lobbies the US government to allocate money to boost the supply of chips only to domestic companies.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
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