SilTerra ramps up production capacity, attracting investors

Chip fabrication foundry SilTerra Malaysia is ramping up its production capacity, and looking for more investors who can help boost its economic scale in the next few years.

Dr Kamarulzaman Mohamed Zin, SilTerra's CEO, says that ideally, candidates should not just be after the financial gains but the economic returns as well.

While investors' payouts may not come soon, great returns and spillovers from the industry will surely come in the longer term.

In recent years, SilTerra has become a catalyst for hi-tech semiconductor manufacturers, going from strength to strength in developing its two core pillars: design and technology know-how, and loyal customers ranging from design niches to innovative small- and medium-sized enterprises.

SilTerra will infuse fresh investments into building its third pillar of strength - one or two new fabrication facilities - in its Kulim headquarters with 14.164 hectares of ample land. Here, would-be investors also stand to gain from the Malaysian advantage of having a calamity-free climate, stable industrial power supply, good physical infrastructure, and trainable scientists and engineers - all backed by state-owned Khazanah Nasional, SilTerra's owner and major investor.

New fabrication facilities will allow SilTerra to produce even more chips that drive the touch displays of smartphone LCDs for which the company has earned global recognition and much success in China, South Korea, Europe and the United States.

"This would be a great story for Malaysia, and it's part of the economic transformation programme. You need to build more fabrication facilities, and through these facilities you build design companies," Kamarulzaman says. "All these up the value chain, which means you have higher local value added to the industry."

As global demand for smartphones, tablets and wearables continues to grow, SilTerra promises solid customer support by creating innovative, low-power mobile technologies for display drivers, touch controllers, Bluetooth, ZigBee, microcontrollers, sensors and power management integrated circuits based on well-funded research and development.

SilTerra Malaysia
www.silterra.com