From left: AEM CEO Chandran Nair, Malaysian Investment Development Authority deputy CEO of investment development Lim Bee Vian, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and AEM non-executive chairman Loke Wai San

BUTTERWORTH (Jan 9): Singapore-based AEM Holdings Ltd, a semiconductor test solutions provider, has opened its new RM65 million manufacturing plant in Penang.

AEM Microtronics (M) Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Chandran Nair said the manufacturing plant, spanning 365,000 square feet (sq ft) located at the Prai Industrial Park, includes an assembly area, a quality assurance section, warehouse and a research and development lab.

“Previously, we had a 30,000 sq ft plant in Bayan Lepas, which was good for the time, and now we are on a much larger scale. Thus, we decided to expand our plant by moving to Prai.

“This new plant will enable AEM to tap into the region’s growth opportunities while connecting with existing and potential customers," he told the reporters at the plant’s opening ceremony officiated by Penang chief minister Chow Kon Yeow here, on Monday (Jan 9).

Chandran said the facility would create more than 200 job opportunities in various fields such as engineering, supply chain and more.

“This site is going to be the centre of priority for a large part of our engineering and manufacturing facility in addition to the warehouse and so on.

“Regarding our future plans for this plant, we will look into the capability and capacity of the business here. We will consider expanding the plant after three years,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chow said that with half a century of industrialisation in its DNA, Penang has navigated through numerous up and down cycles, emerging stronger each time.

“Experiencing an upward trend in its exports, Penang contributed an average of 29% of Malaysia’s exports and 58% of the nation’s trade surplus over the past five years.

“2022 was undoubtedly a record-breaking year for Penang as we achieved RM414 billion in exports from January to November 2022, 17% higher than our all-time-high annual export of RM354 billion in 2021,” he said.

In terms of investments, Chow said Penang was among the country’s top contributors, garnering RM9.2 billion in approved manufacturing investments from January to September 2022.

“As for the investments in the machinery and equipment sub-industry, the state recorded total approved investments of RM7.3 billion from January to September 2022, representing 57% of the country’s total,” he added.