The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has set its sights on bringing the chip design and semiconductor industry to Pakistan.
Discussions within the SIFC have centered on the proposal of a government-to-business (G2B) chip designing facility, including the development of a robust semiconductor industry, reported Express Tribune.
The government has to work with foreign investors, particularly from China and the US, by offering tax incentives and other support programs to establish chip designing centers in the country.
The suggested roadmap emphasizes starting from the testing and research phases before progressing to full-fledged semiconductor manufacturing. Setting up a local semiconductor foundry may need a $6-7 billion investment, besides adequately trained human resources.
A local smartphone assembler stressed the necessity of winning the confidence of big guns like Intel, AMD, Nvidia, Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Unisoc and updating Pakistan’s curriculum to produce the workforce required for this initiative.
In leveraging its strengths, particularly in the realm of mobile phones with their high sales volume, Pakistan can assist local brands in expanding their market share, localizing components, adding value, and protecting intellectual property rights.
The groundwork for developing the chip and semiconductor industry was laid in 2022 with the Pakistan National Semiconductor Plan, which outlined opportunities, challenges, and recommendations. Among the challenges identified was Pakistan’s reputation for business unfriendliness, the lack of trained graduates in chip design, and the absence of incentive plans for chip designing companies.
The Pakistan National Semiconductor Plan recommends improvements in the ease of doing business, establishing advanced training centers, offering world-class incentives to attract international companies, streamlining customs procedures, and reducing costs to make Pakistan a more attractive destination for semiconductor manufacturing.
