PETALING JAYA: Inari Amertron Bhd
is looking to strengthen its growth prospects by expanding its photonics and advanced semiconductor packaging capabilities, positioning the group to tap rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and data-centre (DC) connectivity.
Chairman Datuk Phang Ah Tong said in the group’s financial year 2026 (FY26) annual report that photonics represented one of its key areas of long-term opportunity. Inari has been developing laser and photonics manufacturing capabilities for more than a decade.
“Our existing competencies extend across wafer certification, chip fabrication, chip-on-carrier assembly optical sub-assembly and related testing processes.
“AI workloads expand, DCs require significantly greater bandwidth, lower latency and increasingly efficient interconnect architectures. This is accelerating the shift towards optical connectivity and creating opportunities across the photonics value chain,” he wrote in the report.
Phang added the group continued to expand its photonics manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure in FY26, including further development at its P34 facility in Penang to support customer requirements.
“Additional equipment and facilities planned for FY27,” he said.
Advanced packaging is another important strategic priority of the company. As semiconductor architectures become more complex, an increasing proportion of value creation is moving beyond traditional assembly into areas such as heterogeneous integration, high-density interconnects and chiplet-based architectures.
“Inari’s roadmap is to progressively strengthen our competencies in flip-chip attachment, substrate handling, underfill, moulding, warpage and thermal control, while developing capabilities in redistribution layers, copper-pillar bumping, fine-pitch interconnect, interposer assembly and 2.5D-related packaging,” he said.
Currently, Inari operates 11 manufacturing plants across Malaysia, the Philippines and China, encompassing more than 2.15 million sq ft of manufacturing space.
Phang said the group’s approach to capacity expansion remains “disciplined, customer-driven and focused on speed to market”.
“Beyond physical capacity, we will continue investing in automation, process engineering, productivity enhancement and talent development.
“Technology capability alone is not sufficient. Our ability to execute consistently, scale efficiently and meet demanding customer requirements on the manufacturing floor remains one of Inari’s key competitive strengths,” he said.
Looking ahead to FY27, Phang noted the company enters the year with a broader and more diversified growth pipeline.
Inari expects increased revenue contribution from its expanded product pipeline, particularly in photonics and advanced packaging, alongside our established radio frequency (RF) and industrial products, as opportunities continue to emerge from the growth of generative AI.
At the same time, the group will maintain discipline in capital deployment whereby every significant investment will be evaluated against its strategic relevance, customer requirements, expected returns and ability to strengthen the company’s long-term earnings capability and competitive position.
“Our longer-term ambition is clear: to evolve Inari from a company recognised predominantly for its RF system-in-package strength into a broader and higher-value semiconductor manufacturing platform with meaningful participation in photonics, advanced packaging, connectivity and AI-related applications,” Phang said.
Inari is trading at a historical price-to-earnings ratio of 74.81 times, with a market capitalisation of RM9.71bil.
Insas Bhd, which is now the third largest shareholder in Inari with a 5.6% stake, has been steadily monetising its long-held stake in Inari. In May 2026, its wholly-owned units Insas Plaza Sdn Bhd and Insas Technology Bhd sold 100 million Inari shares for RM186mil or RM1.86 per share, cutting its holding to 9.67%.
It followed up in July by disposing of another 150 million shares for RM318.1mil, or RM2.12 per share, bringing its stake down to about 5.7%. Insas said the sales were intended to realise capital gains and monetise part of its investment, with the July transaction alone expected to yield a net gain of about RM165mil.
The latest development suggests a potential full exit is on the table. In late September, Insas sought shareholders’ approval for a mandate to dispose of its remaining 218.05 million Inari shares, equivalent to roughly 5.65% of Inari, effectively allowing it to sell all of its remaining stake in the company.
Within the AI supply chain, Inari’s main opportunity is in the optical components that help DCs move huge volumes of information quickly.
As companies build larger AI systems, the amount of data moving between servers and networking equipment rises sharply, increasing demand for faster and more efficient connections.
The group has built up its photonics capabilities over more than a decade, covering wafer certification, chip fabrication, chip-on-carrier assembly, optical sub-assembly and related testing.
It is expanding these capabilities at its P34 facility in Penang, with additional equipment and facilities planned for FY27.
Inari is also moving into power-management products for AI DC cards through system-on-module solutions, including DC-DC converters and voltage regulators.
A pilot production line began in August 2026, although a more meaningful earnings contribution is expected from FY28.
