Top Management at Malta Enterprise (ME) and STMicroelectronics (ST) came together to discuss the business climate both in terms of challenges and opportunities that Malta based companies are facing.
This visit also served as an opportunity for ME to better gauge the overall market developments in the semiconductor industry. Meetings such as this are key when it comes to understanding how ME can be of service to the various industries and companies operating in Malta.
Discussions were held on the current market and political environment, including the EU Chips Act, one of the key dossiers followed by ME. In essence, the EU Chips Act is a legislative proposal to bolster Europe’s competitiveness, increase manufacturing production capacities and resilience in semiconductor technologies in Europe and hence strengthening Europe’s technology leadership in the field. As of 2022, Europe accounts for less than 10 percent of the production of semiconductors worldwide, and the Commission hopes to increase the figure to 20 percent with a €43 billion investment.
ST’s test and assembly plant in Malta has over 1,800 employees from 50 nationalities. This manufacturing plant, part of ST’s global manufacturing network, is currently undergoing a strategic transformation to increase both capacity and implement leading-edge processes to support customers across the automotive, industrial, and personal electronics markets. The plant will harness the benefits of Industry 4.0 through further digitalization and automation, including the deployment of additional robotic platforms, and further deployment of data analytics and machine learning through the manufacturing process.
Discussions took place with ST and Malta Enterprise senior management, together with MEPs Josianne Cutajar, Alfred Sant and with the Permanent Representation of Malta in Brussels, who are actively following the EU Chips Act.