GEORGE TOWN: The Government has planned a roadmap for the electronics industry to focus on the Internet of Things (IoT) market over the next five years, as the global value of IoT is projected to hit US$13 trillion (RM41.72 trillion) by 2020.
IoT are objects with Internet connectivity that allow them to receive and transmit data.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) deputy chief executive officer (1) Datuk Phang Ah Tong told StarBiz that there would be some 50 billion devices using IoT technology by 2020.
“This is our roadmap over the next five years. We must establish a foothold in this technological wave, as the IoT technology applications are wide-ranging. There will be a need for more data storage centres, connectivity services, sensors and larger capacity solid state and hard disk drives.
“Malaysian companies can leverage on their 40 years of electronics experience to tap into the IoT segment, focusing on designing, manufacturing processes, research and development, robotics and software development activities,” he said.
Phang said some of the IoT areas that Malaysian companies could provide designing and manufacturing services for include nano-chips, three-dimensional sensors and advanced energy storage systems.
“Over the next five years, Mida will work on attracting multinational corporations and the private sector to invest in designing and manufacturing IoT devices.
“The Government is ready to support these initiatives with facilities, necessary infrastructure and human talent,” he said.
Phang said the Government also aimed to establish an electronics eco-system focusing on design, research and development, software development and intellectual property.
“Once such eco-system is in place. We can easily attract any sector in the electronics industry to invest in Malaysia. This is to avoid competition with low-labour-cost countries in the Asean region.
“The opportunities are enormous nowadays in the electronics sector. It used to be that electronics components were used in televisions and computers. Nowadays, electronics components are also used in medical and smart devices as well as the automotive industry,” he said.
Till 2013, Mida had realised RM162bil in investments, of which RM137bil or 85% was foreign investments.
Phang said that in the first quarter of 2014, the approved investments for the electronics sector totalled RM4.3bil compared with RM9bil for the whole of 2013.
“The approved RM9bil investments for the electronics industry in 2013 is expected to generate 26,000 jobs, of which 70% is in the managerial, technical and supervisory positions.
“It is a very good sign, as the amount is almost 50% of the RM9bil invested in the electronics industry,” he said.
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