PETALING JAYA: Dagang Nexchange Bhd (DNeX) has completed the acquisition of a 60% stake in Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd (SilTerra) for RM168.3mil cash from Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

       Beijing Integrated Circuit Advanced Manufacturing and High-End Equipment Equity Investment Fund Center (CGP Fund) owns the remaining 40% stake in the nation’s largest chipmaker.

       Silterra is involved in the manufacturing of semiconductor wafers and supplies multinational fabless and integrated device manufacturer companies.

       “Our entry into the semiconductor market is certainly well-timed given the current global shortage of chips affecting deliveries of cars, home appliances, notebooks, smartphones, and video game consoles, amongst others. We expect demand to continue to rise beyond 2024 driven by the growing adoption of 5G wireless technology, IR 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and electric vehicles,” said DNeX group managing director Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.(pic)

       “Our entry into the semiconductor market is certainly well-timed given the current global shortage of chips affecting deliveries of cars, home appliances, notebooks, smartphones, and video game consoles, amongst others. We expect demand to continue to rise beyond 2024 driven by the growing adoption of 5G wireless technology, IR 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and electric vehicles,” said DNeX group managing director Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.(pic)

       “Together with our partner CGP Fund, we are confident in our ability to transform Silterra into a competitive global semiconductor technology player that will be able to capitalise on the strong demand for semiconductor chips globally.

       “Moving forward we will focus on strengthening Silterra’s fundamentals in terms of plant utilisation and cost optimisation while introducing a vast network of global clientele. It is time to put Silterra on the map again,” he said in a statement.

       “With our focus on the adoption of the latest semiconductor manufacturing technology, we expect to set in motion a positive spill-over effect throughout the semiconductor value chain in Malaysia comprising companies involved in product design, manufacturing, packaging and assembly. We are confident that this will in turn strengthen Malaysia’s position in the ever-evolving digital arena,” he added.

       DNeX and CGP Fund plan to pursue various initiatives that will upgrade Silterra’s equipment and manufacturing capabilities in new technologies, increase the utilisation of Silterra’s foundry while at the same time, optimise better product mix, as well as improve sales margin, which in turn is expected to drive the turnover and enhance the earnings potential of Silterra.