Semiconductor could be $10b industry for Bangladesh by 2041: MCCI

Bangladesh, in line with its "high-income country by 2041" plan, could tap into a $10 billion opportunity in the semiconductor industry by following a proper roadmap, according to a strategic paper by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka (MCCI).

The paper, "Developing the Semiconductor Industry in Bangladesh", revealed on Thursday (11 July), notes that starting with the humble beginnings in chip designing services by two firms, Ulkasemi and Prime Silicon in 2007, the industry of around 400 local chip designers now earns $6 million in export revenue.

Following the immediate scaling up of the service by building a supportive ecosystem through right policies, incentives and investments, the country gradually should look for attracting global semiconductor players for partnership, contract assembling and ultimately manufacturing to build a $10 billion industry by the period during which it wants to be a smart nation, notes the paper, reflecting the views of a wide range of Bangladeshi academic and industry experts at home and abroad.

With the ever-growing demand for microchips, the nearly $600 billion global market for semiconductors will grow to $1 trillion by 2030, according to North South University Electrical & Computer Engineering Professor M Rokonuzzaman in his keynote paper presented on the occasion.

Smart investment of $1 billion by the state to attract another $1 billion in private capital in the semiconductor industry, alongside all other efforts for encouraging and training Bangladeshi talents alongside facilitating all enablers should be part of the roadmap, he added.

$1 billion smart investment by the state to attract another $1 billion private capital in the semiconductor industry, alongside all other efforts for encouraging, training Bangladeshi talents alongside facilitating all enablers of the roadmap

M Rokonuzzaman, Professor, North South University

Bangladesh, already proving its strengths in the export of technology-based manufacturing goods and ICT services, has an advantage of low wage and therefore training more local engineers in the specialised field will help the country attain high-value export potentials, said experts present on the occasion.

According to the experts, semiconductors as the world's fourth most-traded commodity now have also become part of the political economic discourse. Countries like the USA and India have been going for gigantic incentives on developing self-reliance in all kinds of modern devices. 

Bangladesh should not only count on outsourcing opportunities to foreign firms, but also should let local companies flourish so that they may have their own intellectual property rights in the field. Incentives for research and development will be required for that, said speakers from the industry and academia who participated in the event.

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, in his comments, drew Bangladeshi universities' attention to the need for stronger research as the state has a decent allocation to build the launching pad for Smart Bangladesh.

The government plans to train and let grow a pool of 10,000 local experts for semiconductors, artificial intelligence and frontier technologies in a decade, alongside building a modern Nano lab at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.   

Bangladesh will formulate a national semiconductor policy to tap the potential, according to Palak.

In another keynote, Yusuf Haque, chief technology officer and co-founder of eXo Imaging Inc (USA), suggested ways to bring semiconductor-related technology to Bangladesh.

ICT Secretary Md Shamsul Arefin, MCCI President Kamran T Rahman were among the speakers at the event, which was moderated by MCCI Secretary General Farooq Ahmed.

In an open floor discussion the experts stressed prevention of the "brain drain" alongside recommending accommodation of local metallurgical engineers in the semiconductor industry.