The Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka on Thursday said that while Bangladesh was looking to boost its semiconductor industry, only traditional methods to build the industry might not bring the expected success, and could lead to disappointment.
The trade body said that there were four key forces, including government, entrepreneurs, diaspora and academia necessary for the strategy for developing the scalable and sustainable semiconductor ecosystem, adding that alignment in strategic objective among the key stakeholders with government focus was the key towards a sustainably scalable semiconductor industry in Bangladesh.
The traditional methods to boost the industry involve providing large subsidies, making big investments, educating and training many graduates and developing major infrastructure.
At the launching ceremony of a MCCI publication titled 鈥楧eveloping the Semiconductor Industry in Bangladesh鈥� on the day, the trade body said that the publication would serve as a roadmap for potential investors and policymakers, guiding them on the path to developing the semiconductor industry in Bangladesh.
It stated that Bangladesh earned only $6 million revenue in the sector in 2022, while semiconductor is the 4th most traded commodity in the world with close $600 billion revenue.
In the key presentation, M Rokonuzzaman, professor at the department of electrical and computer engineering at North South University, said that Bangladesh had footprint in two segments of the value chain of semiconductor industry 鈥� chip design services, and assembling and testing.
He suggested grant and curriculum optimisation, tax differential and grant, grant and fellowship, exploration grant and bilateral negotiation support, incentivising local partnership and offering grant and loan on human resource development, ministry engagement and promoting capability in selected countries, and business facilitation and promotion of advisory service as roles of different stakeholders and policy support.
The MCCI also said that the semiconductor industry offered the opportunity to add large value in innovation and design segments, not only low-paying jobs at the testing, assembling and packaging level.
It also said that microchip-based innovation offered the opportunity of improving the quality, reducing the cost and lowering the environmental impact on whatever Bangladesh had been producing till date.
The trade body further said that due to growing consumption, importance in driving other industries, and global trade, all major countries of the world had been entering and extending the footprint in this vital industry.
Md Shamsul Arefin, secretary at the Information and Communication Technology Division of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, pointed out the need to have a comprehensive national policy, tax breaks and subsidies, strengthened intellectual property laws and their enforcements, the availability of clean rooms, testing laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and the promotion of locally manufactured semiconductor chips.
MCCI president Kamran T Rahman highlighted MCCI鈥檚 efforts to support the semiconductor industry in Bangladesh, and stated that semiconductors were crucial to future industrial ventures.
Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for posts, telecommunications and information technology, said that boosting the semiconductor industry could propel Bangladesh to the forefront of technology and progress, and informed that development of a nano-laboratory in BUET was in progress.
