Semiconductor designer SkyeChip Sdn. is considering an initial public offering in Malaysia as early as the second half of this year, people familiar with the matter said, riding on the country’s push to make its own chips.
The company, founded in 2019, is targeting a price that would value it at more than RM1bil, the people said, asking not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.
The size and timing of the offering may change as deliberations are ongoing, the people said. SkyeChip didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Malaysia, which packages about a 10th of the world’s semiconductors, last week inked a pact to pay SoftBank Group Corp.’s Arm Holdings Plc $250 million over 10 years for a slew of semiconductor-related licenses and knowhow. The government plans to aid local companies to design their own chips and target semiconductor exports of RM1.2 trillion by 2030.
SkyeChip is set to benefit from Malaysia’s chip ambitions because of the firm’s technical expertise, Cheow Ming Liang, an analyst at Kuala Lumpur-based Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd
., wrote in a report last week.
Malaysia was among the bright spots for stock deals in Southeast Asia last year, with IPOs raising $1.6 billion, the highest proceeds since 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sizable Malaysian offerings expected this year include those of MMC Port Holdings Sdn. and Sunway Healthcare Group. - Bloomberg
