SIFC to push ahead with plan to develop chip industry
The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has geared up to press ahead with the plan of developing a multibillion-dollar chip design and semiconductor industry in Pakistan.
Sources told The Express Tribune that the government would be required to provide tax incentives and other facilitating programmes to foreign companies, especially Chinese and US investors, to encourage them to set up chip designing centres in Pakistan.
They revealed that the proposal of a government-to-business (G2B) chip designing facility and development of the semiconductor industry was floated in the SIFC in a bid to draw investment of billions of dollars.
It was suggested that Pakistan would have to start from testing and research and then it should develop the semiconductor industry. Estimates suggest that the setting up of a foundry for semiconductor manufacturing requires an investment of around $6-7 billion. Apart from capital, Pakistan has scarcity of trained human resources as well.
“For developing the semiconductor industry, which is associated with smartphone and many other industries, we will have to take small steps by winning the confidence of companies like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, MediaTek and Unisoc, which can invest in testing departments,” remarked Muhammad Naqi, CEO of Premier Code, while talking to The Express Tribune.
Read more: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2460767/sifc-to-push-ahead-with-plan-to-develop-chip-industry
