&#34;In the coming years, the development of Singapore's semiconductor industry will be very exciting.&#34;
Eric Wu, Vice President and General Manager of Lam Research in Southeast Asia, described the prospects of Singapore's chip industry in a recent interview.
In his view, Singapore has such development potential due to three main driving forces: the continuous increase in global chip demand, robust policy support from the government, and ongoing investments by industry players locally.
Headquartered in California, USA, Lam Research is a leading global supplier of chip manufacturing equipment, alongside Applied Materials, ASML, KLA, and Tokyo Electron, ranking among the top five semiconductor equipment giants in the world.
If we compare the semiconductor industry to the construction field, chip manufacturers like TSMC and Samsung Electronics are like construction companies following design plans, while Lam Research is the supplier providing key equipment such as cranes and concrete mixers. With the surge in demand for AI-related chips, Lam Research, listed on the NASDAQ, has seen its stock price rise significantly over the past year, with a cumulative increase of over 180%.
Lam Research entered Singapore as early as 1992, providing equipment operation and maintenance services for clients in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other regions.
<h3>Wafer fabs abound, Singapore at the forefront of the semiconductor industry</h3>
Discussing the development of Singapore's semiconductor industry, Eric Wu pointed out in an exclusive interview with Lianhe Zaobao that against the backdrop of sustained strong chip demand, coupled with continuous investments from the Singapore government and established local players, the development of Singapore's chip industry in the coming years is bound to be &#34;exciting.&#34;
&#34;Singapore has been deeply involved in the semiconductor field for many years, and its industrial positioning has gradually shifted from the downstream packaging and testing phase to the more critical and advanced chip manufacturing phase. From the perspective of the overall ecosystem, Singapore is already at the forefront of the semiconductor industry.&#34;
In recent years, Singapore's chip manufacturing activities have indeed been thriving. In April last year, Taiwan's second-largest chip manufacturer, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), officially launched a new factory in Singapore with an investment of USD 5 billion (approximately SGD 6.7 billion). After entering the first phase of mass production this year, the fully operational annual capacity will exceed 1 million wafers, and Singapore's overall capacity is expected to increase by nearly 50%.
American chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries has also been ramping up investments in Singapore in recent years. The group announced in 2021 an investment of USD 4 billion (approximately SGD 5.3 billion) to build a new factory in Woodlands
To address the global chip supply tightness; in mid-November last year, GlobalFoundries further acquired local silicon photonic chip foundry Advanced Micro Foundry, strengthening its layout in the data center and communication fields.
American memory chip giant Micron Technology is also actively expanding. The company announced last January it would invest $7 billion to build an advanced packaging plant for high bandwidth memory in Singapore; in January this year, it announced an investment of approximately $31 billion to create Singapore's first advanced dual-layer wafer manufacturing plant, which is expected to create 1,600 jobs and begin production in the second half of 2028.
Eddie Wu pointed out that as more semiconductor manufacturers settle in Singapore, multinational equipment vendors, including Lam Research, are ready to meet the growing global chip demand through Singapore's business platform.
<h3>Malaysia's Push into the Upstream Industry Chain Could Bring Opportunities for the Chip Industry</h3>
Although Singapore has established a foothold in the semiconductor manufacturing field, some Asian economies are accelerating their move upstream in the industry chain, taking advantage of the surge in chip demand, including Malaysia, which is adjacent to Singapore.
Malaysia is promoting the establishment of a complete industry chain covering design, manufacturing, and packaging testing through its National Semiconductor Strategy, personally driven by Prime Minister Anwar, to attract domestic and foreign capital investment.
Will this pose competition to Singapore? Eddie Wu believes that rather than viewing Singapore and Malaysia as competitors, it is better to see them as complementary partners.
&#34;Singapore has a solid foundation in chip manufacturing, while Malaysia is currently more skilled in packaging and testing. In other words, wafers manufactured in Singapore often need to be sent to Malaysia for packaging and testing to complete the entire process smoothly.&#34;
As for Malaysia's ambition to upgrade to the chip manufacturing segment, Eddie Wu pointed out that this is not an easy task. &#34;Building a wafer factory often requires investments of billions of dollars and must rely on long-term collaboration between the government, multinational corporations, and capital markets.&#34;
He also added that Malaysia's rapid development in the data center sector may actually bring more orders to Singapore's wafer factories. Data shows that from 2021 to the first half of 2025, Malaysia attracted approximately 144.4 billion ringgit (about 46.5 billion Singapore dollars) in data center investments, and each server requires a large number of chips, including central processing units and memory chips
<h3>Singapore Develops Advanced Packaging and Testing Industry, Talent Shortage Becomes the Biggest Challenge</h3>
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After establishing a foothold in chip manufacturing, what is Singapore's next step for breakthroughs?
Eric Wu believes that developing advanced packaging and testing will be a key direction. Advanced packaging and testing refers to significantly enhancing chip performance and energy efficiency through higher density and more complex packaging methods.
As mentioned earlier, Micron is building an advanced packaging plant in our country, expected to be completed this year and contribute to the company's overall capacity starting next year.
However, Eric Wu admits that one of the biggest challenges Singapore faces in advanced manufacturing is the lack of skilled professionals. Over the past 10 to 15 years, the younger generation has generally chosen fields unrelated to engineering and manufacturing, resulting in a talent gap in this sector.
<h3>Attracting Students to Study Related Courses is the Primary Task</h3>
Eric Wu pointed out that Singapore's primary task is to attract more students to study Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses to continuously supply manpower for the advanced manufacturing sector. &#34;This is a very urgent need; we need more students to pursue studies in related fields to build a larger talent pool.&#34;
He said, &#34;Fortunately, the Singapore government has actively promoted semiconductor-related courses and outreach activities this year. Although the effects will take some time to manifest, this is a good start.&#34;
Looking at Lam Research's overall layout in Asia, the group has established factories in Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan, while its business in Singapore mainly focuses on technical support and sales, supporting manufacturing activities in the region. Looking ahead, does the group have plans to further expand its business in our country?
Eddie Wu revealed that Lam Research is currently working closely with local small and medium-sized enterprises and research institutions to assist Singapore in developing advanced packaging and testing fields. He stated that advanced packaging and testing has become one of the hot topics in Singapore's semiconductor industry, &#34;Some customers have already invested significant funds in related projects, so the group will invest more time and effort in this area.&#34;
In addition, the group is actively seeking local companies as potential suppliers of equipment parts. &#34;We hope to collaborate with more Singaporean suppliers to help promote their products and services for certification, officially integrating them into the group's supply chain.&#34;
<h3>AI Becomes the Biggest Driving Force, Global Semiconductor Industry Scale Expected to Exceed One Trillion USD</h3>
In the face of rising geopolitical tensions, the ongoing US-China technology war, and the continuous increase of US tariff barriers, will this impact Lam Research's business in Singapore?
In response, Eddie Wu stated that the group cannot control changes in the international situation, and can only maintain close cooperation with customers and suppliers, adhere to the trade regulations of each sales market, and make timely adjustments based on market demand.
Despite the uncertainties in the external environment, Eddie Wu remains optimistic about the industry's prospects. He said, &#34;Artificial intelligence is becoming the biggest driving force behind semiconductor market demand; a large data center based on artificial intelligence often requires thousands of chips. Currently, I do not see signs of a slowdown in the semiconductor industry.&#34;
He added, &#34;The industry generally predicts that global semiconductor industry annual revenue is expected to reach one trillion USD, but in my view, the industry's development will not stop at this figure.&#34;

LRCX

Lam Research's Southeast Asia General Manager Eric Wu stated that the outlook for Singapore's semiconductor industry is optimistic in the coming years, driven mainly by three factors: rising global chip demand, government policy support, and increased local investment. Lam Research is a leading global supplier of semiconductor equipment, and its stock price has risen over 180% in the past year

Lam Research Southeast Asia General Manager Eric Wu: Three Driving Forces Make Singapore's Semiconductor Industry Prospects Bright | Lianhe Zaobao