The construction is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2024.

Infineon Technologies AG chief operations officer Rutger Wijburg said Malaysia is an important hub for Infineon due to economies of scale already present in its front-end wafer fab manufacturing in Kulim, and back-end chip manufacturing in Melaka.

“When fully-equipped, products from the new module will generate additional two billion euros (RM9bil) in annual revenue.

“As decarbonisation efforts gain momentum globally, demand from electric vehicles, charging and storage infrastructures, and renewable energy for wide band gap power semiconductors is growing and we are prepared to support the demand,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) deputy chief executive officer Lim Bee Vian said Malaysia is fortunate to have long term and committed industry partners, including Infineon, which have been instrumental in bringing growth to Malaysia’s semiconductor industry.

“Infineon Kulim’s third module will be instrumental in increasing Malaysia’s position in the global semiconductor supply chain.

“Our collective aim is to establish Malaysia as one of the key partners in global semiconductor supply chains,” she said.

The electrical and electronics (E&E) industry contributes significantly to Malaysia’s GDP growth, export earnings, investment and employment, and plays a vital role in the country’s industrial development.

In the first quarter of 2022 alone, Malaysia attracted RM18.6 billion (US$4.4 billion) in approved investments for the E&E industry, among the top performing industries in the period of January to March 2022 for the manufacturing sector.