Executive summary
Malaysia and India are both building national semiconductor strategies, but from very different starting points. Malaysia has five decades of assembly, test and packaging experience and a dense supplier base in Penang and Kedah. India has a large electronics market, a deep design talent pool and a substantial incentive programme for fabs, display and packaging. In Nirji's view, the most realistic collaboration lies where each country's gap matches the other's strength: packaging know-how, equipment and supplier development, design services and talent mobility.
The opportunity and supporting evidence
Malaysia's position. According to Malaysia's Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI), the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS) launched in May 2024 is structured in three phases. MIDA reported that the first phase aims to attract at least RM500 billion of investment, with domestic investment directed to IC design, advanced packaging and manufacturing equipment, and foreign investment focused on wafer fabs and equipment. The plan also seeks to modernise outsourced assembly and test toward advanced packaging and, in a later phase, to build at least ten Malaysian companies in design and advanced packaging with revenues of RM1 billion or more.
The Prime Minister's NSS speech recalled that Intel opened its first overseas production facility in Malaysia in 1972, and noted that Penang received USD 12.8 billion of foreign direct investment in 2023.
India's position. The Press Information Bureau reported in March 2022 that the Semicon India programme was approved with a total outlay of INR 76,000 crore, with the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) as nodal agency. ISM states that its fab scheme extends fiscal support of up to 50% of project cost on a pari-passu basis to approved applicants, alongside schemes for display fabs, compound semiconductors and assembly/test (ATMP), and a Design Linked Incentive. ISM also states that its next phase will focus on equipment and materials, design IP, supply chains and R&D centres.
Countries, sectors and participants
Potential collaboration models
These are Nirji's analytical suggestions, not observed transactions:
Operating considerations and constraints
Practical next steps
What remains uncertain
Scheme terms for India's next phase, the pace of Malaysia's NSS implementation, and global demand cycles for trailing-edge and power chips all remain open. Figures cited are targets and outlays, not deployed capital or capital available to any particular applicant.