Pen-drive creator setting up shop in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Pua Khein-Seng, the 38-year-old Malaysian entrepreneur who invented the pen drive and runs Taiwan-listed Phison Electronics Corp, is setting up a Malaysian branch of his business that will work closely with Silterra Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Malaysia's premier wafer fabrication plant in Kulim, reliable sources said.

Pua, often cited as Malaysia's biggest overseas technopreneur, will likely set up the plant in Penang and “bring back” some of the Malaysian engineers working in Taiwan's Phison plant. The amount of investment isn't clear although it could run into the tens of millions of ringgit due to the high cost of integrated circuit (IC) design equipment and software.