Now this is quite interesting. Foxconn, well-known for assembling Apple’s range of iPhones, is planning to build a chip facility right here in Malaysia. The facility will manufacture semiconductors for the booming EV market.

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Foxconn signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia’s Dagang NeXchange Berhad (DNex) to build and operate the chip facility on our shores. The plant is expected to produce 40,000 wafers a month, which include both 28nm and 40nm technologies.

Of course, these chip production technologies are widely used to manufacture parts for – you’ve guessed it – electric vehicles. Given that chip supplies have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic (and still is), Foxconn’s expansion to our shores could help to alleviate such an issue in the future.

The location and cost of Foxconn’s and DNex’s chip facility have not been revealed yet. But for the latter, chip industry executives estimate that the project could cost between $3 billion to $5 billion – that’s about RM13.1 billion to RM21.9 billion.