In his remarks at a discussion on the sidelines of 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM) and related meetings in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, the official said to grow the region’s semiconductor market, which stood at over US$31 billion in 2023, ASEAN must look beyond volume and towards value.

Semiconductors are seen on a printed circuit board in this illustration picture taken Feb. 17, 2023.

That means moving up the value chain into front-end design, fabrication, and intellectual property (IP) development, so that the bloc is not merely a place where innovation is assembled, but where innovation begins, Amir Hamzah said as reported by the local news site The Sun.

He noted that ASEAN holds immense potential to shape the next chapter of the global semiconductor story as it possesses deep industrial capabilities, a growing base of skilled engineers, increasingly sophisticated innovation hubs, and access to some of the world’s most dynamic consumer and enterprise markets.

Talking about the recent US announcement to impose reciprocal tariffs on countries with trade surpluses, he said ASEAN’s best response is not to retreat into protectionism, but to advance through integration.

"We must diversify our supply chains, champion open regionalism through frameworks like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and make full use of tools like the ASEAN Single Window to reduce friction and build trust," he said as quoted by the site.

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