BANGKOK: Thailand has taken a major step to advance its semiconductor ambitions, pushing the first draft of a “National Semiconductor Roadmap 2050” as a 25-year strategy aimed at transforming the country from a contract assembler into a technology owner under the concept of “Made-in-Thailand Chips”.
At a meeting of the National Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Industry Policy Committee (the “Semiconductor Board”) on Jan 7, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, the panel reviewed the Draft National Strategy for the Development of the Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Industry, which has been developed since April 2025.
Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment (BOI), said the BOI had hired Roland Berger, a leading global consulting firm, to conduct an in-depth study and draft the strategy.
He said the draft had already gone through a public hearing and consultations with stakeholders in October 2025.
The study compared Thailand’s semiconductor industry development with regional peers Singapore and Malaysia, and competitors Vietnam and the Philippines.
Narit said that although Thailand’s semiconductor industry is still at an early stage, the country has opportunities to develop and compete.
The draft recommends focusing on five product groups where Thailand has strong potential: Power, Sensor, Photonics, Analogue and Discrete chips, as these are used in key Thai industries such as automotive, electronics, telecommunications, data centres, AI technology, automation systems and medical services.
Targeting THB2.5 trillion in investment
The draft strategy sets directions for developing the semiconductor and advanced electronics industry by building on Thailand’s existing strengths while developing new capabilities, linking the value chain from upstream to downstream, and promoting “Made-in-Thailand Chips”.
It targets more than THB2.5 trillion in investment over the next 25 years (2026-2050), training more than 230,000 people for the industry, and creating a complete semiconductor ecosystem.
In the first five years, the focus will be on strengthening areas where Thailand already has advantages, including Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT), IC design, and advanced electronics products.
The plan also aims to push investment in upstream wafer fabrication in Thailand, alongside nurturing Thai firms capable of becoming future leading players in the semiconductor industry.
To meet these goals, the draft proposes five main mechanisms, including:
Incentives, such as long-term support funding and low-interest loans, to attract targeted investment projects.
High-skilled talent development, including curriculum development and cooperation between industry and educational institutions in Thailand and abroad to build semiconductor engineering and advanced research capabilities. It also includes upgrading workforce skills through specialised vocational training in technology, such as strengthening the Thai Microelectronics Centre (TMEC) and university semiconductor research centres, as well as cooperation among government, the private sector and educational institutions on R&D and infrastructure.
The draft also highlights infrastructure readiness, including defining cluster areas and developing water and electricity systems.
The meeting also agreed that foreign investment attraction should go hand-in-hand with strengthening Thai participation in the semiconductor value chain to drive technology transfer and develop Thai businesses into future local champions.
Another point emphasised by the meeting was infrastructure preparedness, including electricity, water, waste management, cybersecurity, and new workforce skills aligned with industry demand to support investment decisions.
The meeting noted that the semiconductor industry is a rapidly growing global strategic sector, with the market expected to reach US$1 trillion in 2030, and that it could become a new engine to strengthen Thailand’s long-term competitiveness.
Electronics investment in Thailand
From 2018 to November 2025, applications for investment promotion in the electrical appliances and electronics industry totalled 1,748 projects, with an investment value of THB1.17 trillion, accounting for 19% of total investment value.
Growth has continued, particularly in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing, OSAT, hard disk drives and components, electronic parts for automotive, medical instruments and telecommunications equipment, as well as smart electrical appliances and electronics.
The report also cited major companies investing in production bases in Thailand, including Infineon (Germany), Analogue Devices, Microchip Technology and Lumentum (United States), NXP Semiconductors (the Netherlands), Sony, Toshiba and Rohm (Japan), and Fiti (Foxconn group) from Taiwan, which makes high-precision equipment parts for semiconductor manufacturing machinery.
Vietnam’s roadmap to 2050
Vietnam has moved aggressively, announcing a national semiconductor strategy in 2024 with a long-term roadmap to 2050 to shift from downstream manufacturing into a key player in the global supply chain.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh approved Vietnam’s semiconductor strategy in 2024 under the framework C = “SET + 1”, where C stands for Chips; S for Specialisation (specialised chips); E for Electronics; T for Talent; and +1 for the goal of becoming part of the global semiconductor supply chain.
Vietnam aims to leverage its geopolitical location and labour potential to deepen its role and become a key player in the global semiconductor supply chain by 2050 through three phases:
Phase 1 (2024-2030): selective FDI, establishing at least 100 chip design firms, one small-scale fabrication plant, and 10 packaging and testing plants, before increasing these numbers.
Phase 2 (2030-2040): sustained self-reliance.
Phase 3 (2040-2050): moving into global leadership in semiconductor research and production, with 300 design firms, three fabrication plants, and 20 OSAT plants, targeting revenue of more than US$100 billion per year.
An analysis by Asean Briefing said a key driver is investment by multinational chip firms following the upgrade of Vietnam–US relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023.
It cited Intel, which operates a large chip assembly and test facility in Ho Chi Minh City, one of the company’s biggest global operations, and Amkor Technology, which invested more than US$1.07 billion to build a chip packaging plant in Bac Ninh province.
Vietnam is also trying to link semiconductors with downstream industries, especially electric vehicles (EVs) and AI.
The EV market, led by VinFast, is supporting demand for battery and electronics chips.
In late 2024, Vietnam signed an AI cooperation with Nvidia to establish AI research and data centres, and the deal also included the acquisition of VinBrain, reflecting Vietnam’s positioning in chip applications integrated with AI.
However, the push also carries structural risks.
Vietnam has only about 6,000 semiconductor engineers.
While it targets training 50,000 people by 2030 and 100,000 by 2040, annual demand for IT and digital workers is about 150,000, while supply meets only around 40-50%.
Energy stability was also highlighted as a key factor for attracting advanced manufacturing.
In December 2025, Vietnam announced major tax and land incentives to support the digital technology industry.
The Ministry of Science and Technology issued six key announcements covering imports, production, investment incentives and industrial development in digital technology, and proposed five major draft laws for the National Assembly to consider, including a digital transition law, amendments to the intellectual property law, a technology transfer law, an advanced technology law, and an AI law.
Vietnam’s disbursed FDI for the year was US$27.6 billion, up 9% from the previous year and the highest in five years, with Singapore the top investor at 27.9%, followed by China, Hong Kong, Japan and Sweden.
Malaysia’s push for a high-value economy
Malaysia is also a key ASEAN competitor in semiconductors, backed by its National AI Roadmap 2021-2025 and a national semiconductor strategy released in 2024.
Asia Society reported that since the roadmap was published, Malaysia’s ranking in the Government AI Readiness Index improved from 28th to 24th, second only to Singapore in Asean.
Malaysia is pursuing a high-value economy, focusing on strategic investment in semiconductors, energy transition and the digital sector amid intensifying global competition.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in his 2026 budget speech that the government remains focused on strengthening high-growth sectors by driving strategic industries such as semiconductors, clean energy and digital technology.
Despite a more challenging 2026 economic outlook, the government said it remains confident it can attract quality investment through targeted, coordinated strategies.
Support for high-value industries will be doubled through new funds and co-investment programmes.
Examples include a 200 million ringgit Strategic Co-Investment Fund, offering matching co-investment for SMEs and mid-tier companies via Equity Crowdfunding and P2P platforms; a 180 million ringgit industrial development fund under NIMP to support high-impact industries such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, AI, digital technology and sustainability; and joint investments of RM550 milliont by Khazanah Nasional and the civil service pension fund to strengthen Malaysia’s semiconductor ecosystem and upgrade cooperation between local and multinational firms.
State bank BPMB will allocate 500 million ringgit to support value-added activities and R&D, especially among electronics and electrical companies under the National Semiconductor Strategy (NSS). - The Nation/ANN
