Pakistan aims to set up semiconductors zone with China's help: Fawad

[tower9]

This is a smart move by China. China desperately needs to help shift many high value industries, from tech to agriculture, away from its geopolitical rivals towards its allies in order to build up its "team". Pakistan has massive potential and if it can be tapped into, it will be a much stronger ally for China.

I dont think any pakistani company has the funds or capacity to settup a chip manufactering plant. Most of the investment will be made by Chinese companies.

China is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in chip manufactering. I believe in the next decade China expects to produce more than Taiwan (the current global leader). If Chinese are willing to settup units in Pakistan then why not? Even if we achive 5-10% of taiwans capacity we will be able to supply domestic production plants and have more than enough to exports. Chips are very expensive high value added items.

Pakistan should encourage them with large incentives such as tax free for 10 years, or provide subsidies to such sectors than unproductive sectors. We should aim to have reasonable but growth oriented targets. We cannot become a global tech leader on the scale of China/Korea/Taiwan in 10 years maybe not even 20 years, but is such a thing achievable by 2047 (100 year anniversity of independance) surely it is reasonable.

That's how China started out in a score of industries. They let foreign multinationals in first, they establish the factories, SOPs, etc. Partner with local contractors for a range of tasks and eventually knowledge about this industry takes root and homegrown champions are created.

 

[Sayfullah]

Pakistan should give every type of incentive to get a Fab set up in Pakistan. Tax exemptions, cheap labour, 24/7 cheap electricity, cheap water available 24/7, security and anything they need. Once a Fab is set up in Pakistan, it will truly do wonders for our future economy.

 

[tower9]

I dont think any pakistani company has the funds or capacity to settup a chip manufactering plant. Most of the investment will be made by Chinese companies.

China is investing hundreds of billions of dollars in chip manufactering. I believe in the next decade China expects to produce more than Taiwan (the current global leader). If Chinese are willing to settup units in Pakistan then why not? Even if we achive 5-10% of taiwans capacity we will be able to supply domestic production plants and have more than enough to exports. Chips are very expensive high value added items.

Pakistan should encourage them with large incentives such as tax free for 10 years, or provide subsidies to such sectors than unproductive sectors. We should aim to have reasonable but growth oriented targets. We cannot become a global tech leader on the scale of China/Korea/Taiwan in 10 years maybe not even 20 years, but is such a thing achievable by 2047 (100 year anniversity of independance) surely it is reasonable.

That's how China started out in a score of industries. They let foreign multinationals in first, they establish the factories, SOPs, etc. Partner with local contractors for a range of tasks and eventually knowledge about this industry takes root and homegrown champions are created.

The semiconductor industry is very large, and it's not just the most advanced processes that people usually focus on.

The biggest market is for 14 nm chips I think, that's not even close to cutting edge.

 

[Big_bud]

This is the best thing that would happen to Pakistan. And this is the best visionary thought presented by any govt official in Pakistan.

 

[nang2]

Pakistan should give every type of incentive to get a Fab set up in Pakistan. Tax exemptions, cheap labour, 24/7 cheap electricity, cheap water available 24/7, security and anything they need. Once a Fab is set up in Pakistan, it will truly do wonders for our future economy.

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler just to give cheap electricity/water and tax exemptions to every industry? Whatever industry that can make use of that opportunity and make money stays. Cherrypicking industry just creates a fertile ground for favoritism and cronyism.

 

[Maula Jatt]

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler just to give cheap electricity/water and tax exemptions to every industry? Whatever industry that can make use of that opportunity and make money stays. Cherrypicking industry just creates a fertile ground for favoritism and cronyism.

not enough resources...
when you have less resources, you must cherry pick

 

[nang2]

not enough resources...
when you have less resources, you must cherry pick

The whole idea of economy is to arrange scarce resources so that the maximum benefits are derived from their use. In another word, resources are never enough, not in China, not in US, certainly not in Pakistan. Does that mean every country needs its government to cherry pick industries? I guess only socialists/communists would think so for they believe they are better at such a job than the market.

 

[Trango Towers]

huh? would you rather hire untrained individuals?

Yes...
Why would you want trained individuals with bad habits. Train then yourself in the methodology that best suits your company practices to maximise productivity.
Training and education are not the same things. You can have an engineering degree and be Woking on an amazon production line and picked up bad habits. Then you go to Leyland car plant and carry those bad habits. Hope that makes sense

 

[Sayfullah]

Wouldn't it be a lot simpler just to give cheap electricity/water and tax exemptions to every industry? Whatever industry that can make use of that opportunity and make money stays. Cherrypicking industry just creates a fertile ground for favoritism and cronyism.

We can’t provide all that to everyone industry we simply don’t have the resources or ability to. Why give it to semi conductor industry over say textile industry, it’s because textile industry won’t bring any new knowledge to us and it isn’t worth that much. Semi conductor industry will help our national security, bring new technologies to us and semi conductors is needed in every electronic device from phones to missiles so, it’s vital we have a semi conductor industry in Pakistan.
Semi conductor industry is worth Pakistan even using its own resources and money to fund setting up a Fab in Pakistan. Once we have the know how on how to build these and people skilled in making them, we can create our own semi conductor company and one day end up like TSMC. It will take decades but if we start now then it will happen.
Indonesia did the same thing it first got semi conductor companies to set up in Indonesia then Indonesia eventually set up its own semi conductor company.

 

[nang2]

We can’t provide all that to everyone industry we simply don’t have the resources or ability to. Why give it to semi conductor industry over say textile industry, it’s because textile industry won’t bring any new knowledge to us and it isn’t worth that much. Semi conductor industry will help our national security, bring new technologies to us and semi conductors is needed in every electronic device from phones to missiles so, it’s vital we have a semi conductor industry in Pakistan.
Semi conductor industry is worth Pakistan even using its own resources and money to fund setting up a Fab in Pakistan. Once we have the know how on how to build these and people skilled in making them, we can create our own semi conductor company and one day end up like TSMC. It will take decades but if we start now then it will happen.
Indonesia did the same thing it first got semi conductor companies to set up in Indonesia then Indonesia eventually set up its own semi conductor company.

Let businessmen decide what is worth and how much is worth. They put their own money on the line for their judgement, which is more likely to be honest than some technocrats who put other people's money on the line for their judgement.

 

[GumNaam]

Yes...
Why would you want trained individuals with bad habits. Train then yourself in the methodology that best suits your company practices to maximise productivity.
Training and education are not the same things. You can have an engineering degree and be Woking on an amazon production line and picked up bad habits. Then you go to Leyland car plant and carry those bad habits. Hope that makes sense

technical training and bad habits are two different things. instead of wasting money on paying them for presumably on the job training, invest in solid interview techniques so that you can weed out the candidates with bad habits and hire the ones with the technical training minus the bad habits.

 

[MH.Yang]

Yes...
Why would you want trained individuals with bad habits. Train then yourself in the methodology that best suits your company practices to maximise productivity.
Training and education are not the same things. You can have an engineering degree and be Woking on an amazon production line and picked up bad habits. Then you go to Leyland car plant and carry those bad habits. Hope that makes sense

Your idea is strange.

 

[American Pakistani]

I hope we are actually progressing on this instead of just bla bla like previous govts.

 

[satyamev]

minimum investment for a fab unit is from 20 b usd to 50 b usd.
Does Pakistan have the circuit design engineers for the dies after the manufacturing of the wafer ?
You hire all engineers from usa, taiwan or China or other countries ?
A complete eco system is required.
Also it's a water intensive industry.

 

[silverox]

Pakistan can import lithography machines from the Netherlands. China is blocked by the United States and cannot be purchased. China is developing lithography machines by itself, but it will take at least ten years to reach the level of the latest lithography machines.