High infection cases worsen chip shortages

Malaysia’s position as a prime base for testing and packaging chips is critical because those are the last steps of semiconductor production.

KUALA LUMPUR: The number of Covid-19 infections is surging in Malaysia, threatening to aggravate shortages of semiconductors and other components that have hammered automakers for months.

The country hasn’t historically had the kind of importance to technology supply chains that Taiwan, South Korea or Japan do.