KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: This week, the Malaysian government said it plans to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park and will offer related incentives, such as tax breaks, subsidies, and visa exemption fees, to attract global tech companies and investors.

As part of its goal of being among the top 20 countries in the global start-up ecosystem index by 2030, Malaysia aims to make Kuala Lumpur a regional digital hub.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the proposed integrated circuit design park will enable Malaysia to progress from backend chip assembly and testing to high-value front-end design work.

A significant player in the semiconductor industry, Malaysia accounts for some 13% of global testing and packaging.

Anwar said the park, backed by central Selangor state, will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with international companies, such as British chipmaker Arm Holdings.

Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli said the government would offer incentives, including subsidized office spaces, exemptions on employment passes, relocation services, and lower corporate tax rates, for foreign venture capital firms, tech entrepreneurs, and unicorns, which are start-ups valued at $1 billion, that plan to invest in Malaysia.

“We want to attract global unicorns to enter Malaysia so that high-skilled and high-value jobs are created, besides developing a pipeline of future entrepreneurs and senior leaders in tech,” Rafizi said.