The race for some Southeast Asian countries to anchor themselves in the global semiconductor industry is open and evolving, even as it is complicated by factors like great power rivalry.
Global demand for microelectronics has boomed, even as US pressure on China has driven chip industry leaders to look elsewhere for their operations. The US, EU, and Korean heavyweights in the semiconductor supply chain have turned to Southeast Asia to host a flood of new projects, with most going to Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Singapore and Malaysia established themselves in the then…
