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FRIDAY | APR 17, 2026

Micron bets on Malaysia as AI semicon demand surges o US multinational positions operations to capture next wave of memory-driven growth

Ű BY DEEPALAKSHMI MANICKAM sunbiz@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA: Micron Technology is doubling down on Malaysia as a key node in the global artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor supply chain, positioning its operations in the country to capture the next wave of memory driven growth as demand accelerates. Corporate vice-president for assembly and test NAND operations Amarjit Sandhu said Malaysia is moving beyond its traditional role to become a higher-value hub aligned with AI infrastructure needs. “Malaysia holds a uniquely strategic position

in the global semiconductor and AI supply chain,” he said in an exclusive interview with SunBiz , pointing to the country’s mature ecosystem, reliable logistics and business environment that enable seamless integration into Micron’s global network. Micron, a US multinational semi conductor company, established its first Malaysian operation in Muar, Johor, in 2010. It has since expanded into Penang, where it is advancing

capacity, speed and power efficiency within tighter constraints. “For NAND, scaling layer counts introduces thermal stress and yield challenges, while for DRAM, smaller nodes must deliver higher density without compromising bandwidth,” Sandhu explained. “These are complex engineering trade-offs that must be solved simultaneously.” Malaysia is directly involved in addressing these challenges, including qualifying next generation NAND and producing SSDs deployed in global data centres. Beyond technology, sustainability is becoming a decisive factor in investment decisions. Sandhu noted that hyperscalers are increasingly evaluating suppliers based on environmental performance alongside cost and capability. Through collaboration with Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Micron’s Malaysian operations run fully on renewable electricity, avoiding about 170,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. “Sustainability has shifted from being a competitive advantage to an essential requirement,” Sandhu said, adding that Malaysia’s renewable energy pathways and policy support strengthen its appeal. Talent development remains a long-term priority, but Sandhu said progress is encouraging, supported by government initiatives and industry-academia collaboration. “Continuous upskilling and reskilling must be embedded as an ongoing practice,” he said. Looking ahead, Micron sees Malaysia’s trajectory aligning with its own growth strategy as AI reshapes the semiconductor landscape. “What excites us most is Malaysia’s forward momentum,” Sandhu said. “We see Malaysia growing into an increasingly high-capability hub for semiconductor innovation on the world stage.” This forward-booking strategy, combined with its B2B distribution network of over 800 travel agents nationwide, underpins the group’s resilience and ability to sustain demand even during periods of uncertainty. The company is also investing in IT enhancements and building a dedicated meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions team to capture corporate travel demand, which it sees as a significant growth segment alongside its core leisure offerings. Lim said Golden Destinations will continue to prioritise sustainable growth while rewarding shareholders, with a dividend policy of at least 40% of profits. “With our 35 years’ experience, strong brand and proven B2B model, we believe we can bring the industry to another higher level,” he said, adding that travel demand remains robust as consumers continue to prioritise experiences. – by DEEPALAKSHMI MANICKAM

next-generation manufacturing capabilities. Its Malaysian sites now assemble and test NAND, DRAM, SSDs and memory modules that feed directly into AI applications from data centres to edge devices. Sandhu stressed that Malaysia’s importance is rising in tandem with the growing complexity of AI workloads. “As large language models grow in scale and complexity, the demand for higher bandwidth, greater capacity and more power-efficient memory solutions intensifies,” he said. A key development is the emergence of new memory architectures such as SOCAMM2, which supports central processing units (CPU) in handling memory-intensive AI workloads. Within platforms such as Nvidia Vera Rubin, SOCAMM2 complements high-bandwidth memory used by GPUs (graphic processing units), enabling a more efficient division of tasks. “This tiered memory architecture allows GPUs to focus on extreme compute per formance, while CPUs manage large memory footprints efficiently and at lower power,” Sandhu said. He added that advanced assembly and test capabilities are now critical in bridging chip design and real-world deployment at scale. “Assembly brings together the physical components into finished products, while

Micron’s manufacturing facility in Batu Kawan, Penang. Inset: Sandhu.

market reliably and at scale,” Sandhu said. On the demand outlook, Micron sees the current AI investment cycle as structural rather than temporary, underpinned by hyperscaler expansion, enterprise adoption and increasingly data-heavy applications. “The surge in AI investment reflects a fundamental shift in how the world computes, stores and processes data,” he said. “Every AI model trained, every inference run depends on fast, reliable, high-capacity memory.” At the same time, the technical bar continues to rise. Advancing NAND, DRAM and SSD technologies requires balancing higher

rigorous testing validates performance and ensures reliability at scale,” he said, noting that Micron’s Malaysian operations are built to deliver the speed and cycle times required by AI customers. Regionally, Malaysia’s role is reinforced by Southeast Asia’s complementary semi conductor ecosystem. While Singapore leads in front-end manufacturing and research and development, Malaysia anchors the back-end assembly, test and packaging segment. “Together, these different market capa bilities form an interlocking network that global customers depend on to bring products to

Golden Destinations targets regional push, stronger Asia margins KUALA LUMPUR: Golden Destinations Group Bhd is gearing up for regional expansion and margin uplift by leveraging its ACE Market listing to scale its outbound travel business, with Singapore and East Malaysia forming the next phase of growth. Moving on, the group is targeting Singapore as its first overseas market, where outbound travel demand is significantly larger and dominated by smaller agencies. shifting travel patterns to support profitability, as demand pivots towards Asia, particularly East Asia and China, which typically command higher margins compared with other regions. flight seats in advance through fixed agreements with airline partners, insulating it from fuel surcharge fluctuations and allowing it to maintain stable package pricing.

The group noted that Asia already contributes more than 75% of its revenue, positioning it well amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties affecting long-haul travel. Despite disruptions to Europe-bound travel due to transit issues in the Middle East, the impact remains limited, with affected customers given options to switch destinations or convert their bookings to credit. The group estimates that only a small portion of its total travel volume is impacted, with many customers opting to redirect their trips within Asia. On balance, the shift is expected to be margin accretive. “We see this as a very positive shift and expect an improvement in our profit margin this year,”the company said. Golden Destinations’ scale also provides a buffer against cost volatility. The group has secured more than 100,000

Lim said Golden Destinations is ready to roll out operations, supported by licensing approvals and incoming staff.“We are ready, with our licence secured, and we hope to achieve full operations this year.” Singapore’s outbound travel market, estimated at four times the size of Malaysia’s, offers a natural extension of the group’s B2B model, which aggregates travel products and distributes them through a wide network of agents. Domestically, the company is expanding its footprint in Sabah and Sarawak, with plans to localise travel products and enable direct departures from East Malaysian airports. Lim said this strategy aims to tap into rising affluence and distinct consumer preferences in the region. “We would like to curate and localise our products, allowing travellers to depart directly without transiting in Kuala Lumpur.” At the same time, Golden Destinations expects

Managing director Mita Lim said the listing serves as a springboard rather than a milestone, as the group looks to replicate its business-to business (B2B) model beyond Malaysia. “Listing is not the landing. We actually have a strategy to move on,”he said at a press conference yesterday. Golden Destinations made its debut on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia yesterday, marking a milestone as the first travel B2B company listed on a stock exchange in Asean. Its share price opened at 49 sen, an 8.89% premium to the initial public offering price of 45 sen, with 15 million shares traded. However, the share closed at 40 sen, 5 sen or 11.11% below the offer price, on 93.55 million shares traded. On shareholder returns, Lim said the group intends to maintain a consistent dividend policy of at least 40% of its profit.