Nasdaq-listed Micron's RM1.5b investment in Penang for SSD centre of excellence

Darrell Leiking announced on Thursday Micron selected Malaysia because of its close vicinity to its Singapore NAND centre of excellence, to support its ramp up.

KUALA LUMPUR:  Nasdaq-listed  Micron Technology, Inc. plans to invest RM1.5bil over the next five years to build a centre of excellence for solid-state drive (SSD) assembly and test in Penang as it aims to expand its presence in Malaysia.

The new project, which includes producing 3D advance storage and memory packages, will raise the country’s profile as a preferred location for next generation storage and memory products.

The group expects to break ground in the first half of 2019 (1H19) with full production within two years and expects to grow in Penang with an initial hiring of 1000 employees and a RM1.5bil investment within five years.

Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Darrell Leiking announced on Thursday Micron selected Malaysia because of its close vicinity to its Singapore NAND centre of excellence, to support its ramp up. 

“Micron’s facility in Penang will strengthen the local electrical and electronics (E&E) ecosystem as it will be integrating with best in class SSD manufacturing automation and Industry 4.0 manufacturing processes. 

“Micron will undertake research and development (R&D) activities and plans to collaborate with at least three to five local universities. 

“This will contribute towards advancing the skill set of our talent in Malaysia by applying new technologies, industrial skills and professional know-how. Local companies will also be able to tap into opportunities to collaborate with Micron in the areas of robotics, automation, big data and artificial intelligence,” said Leiking.

Micron Technology’s back-end operations senior vice president Gursharan Singh said: “Micron’s expansion in Malaysia supports our strategy to build a scalable, agile and well-positioned global capacity model.

“The new greenfield location in Penang for SSD manufacturing will enhance our NAND centr of excellence in Southeast Asia, building on our existing presence in Malaysia and Singapore, while ensuring a continued focus on better servicing customers and attracting and retaining the highest-quality talent.”

In January to September 2018, MIDA approved 37 projects in the electrical and electronic (E&E) industry worth RM10.6bil. 

These are expected to create 9,420 job opportunities for the country. 

The top foreign investors were from The Netherlands, China, US, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Singapore.