Business Desk 
Nov 29, 2024
The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is set to develop a centre for manufacturing semiconductor designs and Assembly, Test, and packaging (ATP) converting Pakistan into the central hub for semiconductor manufacturers.
As Pakistan’s most of national economy and security are highly dependent on semiconductors, it is essential to develop a Semiconductor Policy.
The five elements which are included in the policy are:
- Support and incentives.
- Infrastructure development.
- Human resource development.
- Industry ecosystem building and collaboration.
- Research and development (R&D) and innovation.
These would be utilised to establish a semiconductor ecosystem in Pakistan. The policy also offers grants and subsidies to organisations that are interested in investing in semiconductor designs, R&D and manufacturing.
However, this would add up to their STZ incentives towards semiconductor industries while providing an exemption from import duties equipment, and machinery for the semiconductor industries.
This policy provides soft loans at 25% rebated interest rates for the industry to set up and also provides 25% tax rebates for the working employees in the industry and R&D organisation. Moreover, it has proposed the establishment of national semiconductor funds of about Rs10 billion for loans, grants, startups, and incentives to retain local talents and attract international firms.
The segmentation of the semiconductor market is into three parts:
- Chip design.
- Fabrication.
- Assembly, test and packaging (ATP).
Most of the chip design and Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) tools market is dominated by the USA, whereas Taiwan is leading in the fabrication of chips. China owns major shares from the leading industries of ATP, and different segments of semiconductor industries have different requirements for investments, Human Resources (HR) and Return On Investment (ROI).
The government is looking forward to introduce this as a new strategy to increase its investment plans in the semiconductor sector for accruing benefits and achieving self-reliance.
Meanwhile, at this point every country in the world is investing largely in this sector it would be a step towards a brighter future for Pakistan to step up the pace according to the leading economies of the world.
