Mr. Guofu Zhou, Deputy General Manager of Ferrotec Power Semiconductor Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., shares insights on the company's RM520 million investment in Johor, particularly in Pasir Gudang. Discover the strategic rationale behind this decision and the competitive advantages Johor offers in the global semiconductor supply chain.
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00:01Hello, you're with me, Nina Rosman, and we're live from Pristada Johor International Convention Centre,
00:08a pivotal moment in cross-border economic collaboration as Malaysia and Singapore convene for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone for the Business and Investment Joint Forum.
00:20And definitely as we bring you comprehensive coverage from morning that the forum could redefine how trade, investment and the industry synergy in this region.
00:30And since the morning, we have been tracking arrival of VIPs from both governments, speak with experts from across the sectors, from finance, logistics, manufacture, R&D,
00:38and even will we be witnessing the key moments like MOU signings, policy unveilings and even exclusive bilateral meetings.
00:49And with me right now, I'm not alone. The key person to speak from the industry is Mr. Zoe Goffu, the Deputy General Manager of Faro-Tech Power Semiconductor.
00:59I want to say thank you very much for joining me.
01:01Firstly, this is a very pivotal moment as we're witnessing both countries is heading to a new, bigger, better and stronger journey in economic collaboration.
01:11Firstly, Mr. Zoe Goffu, maybe you can share with us the strategic rationale behind Faro-Tech Decision to invest around 520 million ringgit in Johor, particularly in Pasegurang.
01:24Maybe you can share with us about that.
01:26Okay. Actually, we are almost one of the largest manufacturers in our product, the DCB and AMB.
01:34And actually, we are pounding our ability globally.
01:39And so I think we need manufacturers basically outside China.
01:44And also, you know, there is a terrible war between China and the U.S.
01:49I think maybe Malaysia will have good relationship with China and the U.S.
01:56I think that's a good choice for us.
01:58What actually is the competitive advantage that Malaysia and Johor specifically offer Faro-Tech Decision in the global semiconductor supply chain?
02:07Okay.
02:08Actually, firstly, the location, the transportation of the Malaysia in Johor is very good.
02:15It's near to Singapore.
02:17And also, I think the mature semiconductor center, I think the supply chain is very important for us.
02:35And also the multi-language.
02:37I think there are a lot of people with multi-language.
02:41And, you know, when we are trying to develop our ability to oversee and we need, we can speak English very well and can communicate with customers.
02:52And also can communicate with the people in China.
02:55So that's very important.
02:56And also, actually, I think the incentives from this area and the government and the MEDA and the InvestJB introduced the incentives in this area.
03:12And that's attracted us very a lot.
03:16That is a very great initiative to hear, Mr. Gofu.
03:19And talking about in the era of rising AI digital, how is Faro-Tech incorporating industry 4.0, especially in the AI automations, IoT, in the manufacturing processes here in Malaysia?
03:34Okay.
03:35Actually, we have planned smart manufacturing in the coming years.
03:40And also, we have started automation for the production.
03:44And we have ERP mice, WI mice, a lot of systems.
03:51And in the future, we will combine them together.
03:56And we are working for the actually smart manufacturing.
04:01In the future, maybe AI can help us to do some routine jobs for staff.
04:08Okay.
04:08Within this joint business investment forum for the JSAZ, one of the biggest aspects, they are focusing on the mobility of the talent.
04:16The mobility of the talent from Singapore to Johor is very important because they are one of the main biggest contributors for the economy.
04:23But in Faro-Tech planning, are there any in-house training for the upskilling, reskilling or cross-skilling of the talent?
04:29Or you have built a transfer program, especially to be a sustainable talent pipeline in Johor?
04:36Yes.
04:37The talent is very important for manufacturing.
04:40And actually, we can get, I mean, high-skilled people, professional people, maybe from Singapore.
04:48There are a lot of world-class universities.
04:53And we also have a lot of skilled workers in this area.
04:59Okay.
05:00And so, also, the logistics is also very important.
05:05We always get, take a very long time to get the service, to get a spare part from Singapore.
05:11And if we can get, if this platform will help us to reduce the lead time.
05:18And also, for the third one question.
05:21All right.
05:22Noah is talking about how do you build a sustainable timeline for talent in Russia.
05:27Yes, sustainable talent.
05:29Okay.
05:30Actually, we have sent more than 90 people to China for training, including quality, including technical,
05:37and including some management people.
05:41And when they come back, they will get our local people trained.
05:47And actually, we also have some intern program with the local universities, such as UTC.
05:55And maybe in the future, we can have some collaboration with Singapore universities.
06:02And that will be very helpful to do some R&D projects in the future.
06:10Being here, we do see something big, new.
06:13Maybe you can share with us what are some of the values or even synergies that GSSEC can bring
06:20or integrate with the manufacturer industry.
06:24Actually, firstly, I think we have a few efficiency and high efficiency and supportive from the local government.
06:37I think we got the support from the Juhu government and the MEDA and the MBPG, the local government.
06:44They get support of us very, very much.
06:47And we can expedite the progress of the construction of the plants.
06:52And actually, we started this project in 23rd in September.
06:59We purchased the land.
07:01We sent the SAP, the Juhu government to help us a lot.
07:07And then we constructed the plant.
07:09We need a lot of documents to prepare to get approval from the government.
07:17And we got them.
07:18They helped us a lot to get those kind of approval.
07:21And then we are launching our production.
07:25And actually, we have installed the machine.
07:28And we are launching our production.
07:30And we even sent some goods to our customers.
07:34It's very, very fast.
07:35And it's very helpful for the local government, the Juhu government.
07:41That is very great progress.
07:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:44Maybe, so can you share with me, during the whole transformations and evolution of manufacturer industry,
07:52what are the challenges that you have faced and are still addressing until now?
07:57And what are some of the opportunities that you can maneuver from this?
08:01Sorry for your question again.
08:02What are the challenges within the manufacturing industry that you have seen all year long?
08:07Actually, we always need more employees to work.
08:16Actually, the recruitment of the employees sometimes takes time.
08:20And that will slow down our progress of the project.
08:23And also, actually, I think the transportation is out.
08:35If we get some help from, support from outside, you know that we supply from Japan, supply from European.
08:44And they need to come to our plant to assist us to install the machine.
08:51And sometimes, we will always have some issues in the emigration sometimes.
08:58Okay.
08:59I think in the future, if we don't have so many, if we have the GIS as an easy platform,
09:08and in the future, I think it will be easier.
09:10I think it's important for us to evaluate what's happening in the global, the China, U.S.
09:16tariff with the war going on.
09:17It's definitely we need to take any precautious measure in managing or restructuring,
09:24realign the objective for manufacturing industry.
09:26And maybe, has the company, Phyrotec, has been discussing with Maida, Invest Johor,
09:32or any other authorities regarding potential incentive or support within the JSA initiatives?
09:38Yes, yes.
09:39We have got the, actually, indication from Maida, from Invest Johor, and the local government.
09:46They gave some indication about the incentive, the application, and we are doing, it's going
09:52very well, and I hope finally we can get approval very soon.
09:56All right.
09:56Probably, you can share with us, for the forum, GSSEZ, we're at here at Prasada Johor,
10:03share with us what some of the wish lists you hope from this forum that you wish to achieve
10:10within the next few years for the short term and even for the long term dream.
10:15Actually, we can see that a lot of companies come to invest in Johor, and actually, we are,
10:22actually, we are built into the semiconductor industry, and actually, we hope that the supply
10:33chain, the service, the supply chain, the supply chain, the supply chain, we get better and
10:39better, and strong in the supply chain, it would be more mature, more and more in the future.
10:48So, I want to take a look in the future, moving forward, what are some of the, your next big
10:56thing for ferro tech, actually, what's your biggest planning, and what are you going to
11:00do under the initiative, OG, GSSEZ, in the near-term future?
11:04Sorry, the question?
11:05Your next big project.
11:06Your next big project.
11:08For ferro tech.
11:08Can you share with us your big project?
11:10The next big project, you mean the investments?
11:12Yes, we are trying to fund a new project in Malaysia, sometimes, and especially in Johor.