S'pore, Asean must remain committed to advancing chip strategies: Industry group

Singapore and its Asean neighbours must stay committed to advancing their semiconductor strategies as most chipmakers will continue to invest worldwide and innovate with or without trade barriers, said Mr Ajit Manocha, president and chief executive of global industry association Semi.

- Ovais Subhani

Mr Manocha said that for an industry that is globally interconnected and interdependent, the current trade tensions and policy uncertainty make the operating environment extremely challenging. However, growing demand for technology and semiconductors—which power everything electronic—means chipmakers will look through the ongoing disruption and find the best ways to avail themselves of new opportunities.

"This is a time of unprecedented challenges and unprecedented uncertainties, but it is also a time of unprecedented opportunities," Mr Manocha said in an interview with The Straits Times ahead of a conference—Semicon South-east Asia 2025—that his association is holding in Singapore this week.

"I think it will be great for the Singapore Government to really say loud and clear how they plan to advance the agenda of their semiconductor strategy in this country. And I think other countries from Asean should follow suit."

Mr Manocha said a total of 105 new chip fabrication plants, or fabs, have been announced worldwide, of which 84 are already under construction.

Six of these under-construction fabs are in South-east Asia, of which half are in Singapore alone, he said.

"But with global chip sales projected to increase to US$1 trillion (S$1.3 trillion) by early 2030s, the industry will need another 30 fabs by 2030."

This is an opportunity for Asean and Singapore, which are already part of the global chip supply chain, said Mr Manocha, adding that many countries are now trying to attract semiconductor investments.