India eyes chip tie-ups with M’sian companies

KUALA LUMPUR: India is eyeing economic opportunities that would arise with the Madani Economy framework, says the High Commissioner of India to Malaysia B.N. Reddy.

One of those opportunities that he said the country would like to potentially partner with are Malaysian companies in the semiconductor industry.

“The growth rate of the global consumption of semiconductors will be so high that if we were to partner with Malaysian companies, it will not be a losing situation (for Malaysia), as there would be a huge market for their products in India,” Reddy said at The Economic Club of Kuala Lumpur and Star Media Group (ECKL-Star Media) Diplomatic Encounters, organised by KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific.

He added that the need for semiconductors will grow at a rapid pace.

“For example, in the automobile industry, India’s growth is over 7% to 8% per annum and to deploy these requires a lot of microchips.

“This is a major area that can have collaborative efforts. India is also the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones today,” he added.

Reddy also said he expects palm oil exports from Malaysia to India to continue to grow, despite the South Asian country now also cultivating its own palm oil industry.

“India does not have the right climatic conditions to produce (much) palm oil, except for two small areas. Despite having our own, the demand would still grow, moving forward, on population growth.

“India would still not be able to produce enough for its growing consumption,” Reddy said.

The lecture yesterday, which was the first in the ECKL-Star Media Diplomatic Encounters, was also attended by Alex Yeow, group chief executive officer of Star Media Group Bhd.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be invited to participate in this inaugural ECKL-Star Media Diplomatic Encounters lecture series that would discuss key global issues impacting countries in this region and drive fresh momentum from various perspectives.

“They are from government leaders and key stakeholders from industries, businesses and other areas of common interest.

“We are stronger when we act cohesively towards a shared goal or objective – we believe these lecture series will promote constructive engagements with countries in the region to deepen cooperation, encourage regional unity, spur development, ensure stability and strengthen security,” Yeow said in his opening speech.

The ECKL-Star Media Diplomatic Encounters lecture yesterday was sponsored by IJM Corp Bhd.