The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) has launched a RM185 million research, development, innovation, commercialisation and economy (RDICE) programme to strengthen Malaysia’s capabilities in advanced semiconductor packaging technology.
In a written parliamentary reply, MOSTI said the initiative, undertaken with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia through the Malaysia Science Endowment (MSE), is aimed at helping Malaysia secure a 7% share of the global advanced packaging market.
The programme will be funded through RM92 million from the MSE, with a further RM93 million contributed by industry partners.
MOSTI said the initiative was approved by the National Science Council on May 11, 2026 as one of the country’s national priority missions for the advanced semiconductor industry.
The programme brings together five Malaysian semiconductor companies with local universities and research institutions to undertake integrated research and development activities.
The participating companies are SkyeChip Bhd, Inari Technology Sdn Bhd, FusionAP Sdn Bhd, Pentamaster Instrumentation Sdn Bhd and NSW Automation Sdn Bhd.
According to MOSTI, the key focus of the investment is to build Malaysia’s capabilities in advanced packaging technology while developing the country’s first proof-of-concept High Bandwidth Memory 4 (HBM4) test chip.
The ministry was responding to a question from Datuk Ahmad Amzad Mohamed @ Hashim (PN-Kuala Terengganu) on research and development investments under the Malaysia Science Endowment to support the country’s semiconductor ambitions.
