Startups begin floating as multibillion-dollar semiconductor industry beacons Bangladesh having umpteen engineers coming out from nearly 95 educational institutions, pioneers say, as global economic powers scramble for sourcing chips.
Industry data show around 25,000 Electrical and Electronics Engineers and Computer Engineers are coming out annually with graduation or master's degree as resources that can help grab the potential in the fastest-growing global economy.
Industry people say Bangladesh can earn billions of dollar in chip designing or prefabrication stage by imparting training to the existing pool of engineers with government investment, which other countries like India, China, the USA are doing.
The $600-billion global semiconductor industry shows signs of booming to $1.0 trillion in size by 2030, says Mckinsey & Company.
Founder and CEO of Technohaven Company Ltd Habibullah N Karim, also former president of Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS), says Bangladesh has the potential to grab 3.0 to 4.0 per cent of the $1.0 trillion worth of semiconductor industry across the globe by grooming skilled manpower.
Currently, three companies in Bangladesh are engaged in chip designing, including two large ones named ULKASEMI and Neural Semiconductor Limited.
Primesilicon is another company in the latest techno industry doing prefabrication work for last 12-13 years.
Since commencing startup in 2007, ULKASEMI has now nearly 25 global clients, including big-name ones like Apple and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), where Bangladeshi engineers are supporting in chip designing.
Neural Semiconductor, a concern of DBL Group, has invested in VLSI Design and tied up with 27-28 universities to support resource buildup for this industry.
The firm ULKASEMI, headquartered in Cupertino (Silicon Valley), has obtained land at the Hitech Park in Kaliakoir to establish a semiconductor plant for testing and packaging in future.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ULKASEMI Mohammad Enayetur Rahman, has observed a remarkable rise in work orders (specification negotiation) from global technological giants like Apple, Google and Facebook in recent times.
"Bangladesh's capacity has been well-established at prefabrication stage among the global clients," he says.
Mr Enayetur Rahman, one of the trailblazers in the fastest-growing field of knowledge economy, says they have observed a 50-percent growth in works during the last five years.
"Our target is achieving an annual growth of 20 to 30 per cent with support of the government in resource buildup," he told the FE writer.
The company has over 300 engineers in Bangladesh, 35 in Silicon Valley, USA, and 30 in Canada and looks to have 100 engineers in India, he said.
"This is a future knowledge-intensive industry. Modern world cannot think without semiconductors," says Mr Rahman, who has working experiences in Silicon Valley.
He feels the need for a separate cabinet body under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) focused on semiconductor to oversee investment and plan governmental support mechanisms.
To substantiate he proposition he points out recent dilemma over determining the lead ministry for the knowledge-based industry.
The company supports chip designing from not only Bangladesh but also from other countries, too, due to meeting "clients' confidentiality".
Md Shakhawat Hossain, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Neural Semiconductor, says the company started off in 2017 with 20 engineers from BUET and now it has a pool of more than 100 engineering professionals.
"We are taking offices in the USA and Malaysia to meet the clients' requirement and explore the potential," he told this correspondent.
The company has four to five regular clients from the United States, Japan, and Malaysia, he added.
"Resource build-up needs a considerable amount of investment as obtaining licences for the training software is expensive," he said, echoing the call for government's fund support.
India is earning $40 billion by exporting chip designs, equivalent to Bangladesh's apparel export, he mentions as one instance of the potential the sector holds as it has linkage to world's most advanced manufacturing industries.
"We are now at takeoff stage of the knowledge-intensive industry where government's intervention is required for resource buildup on a massive scale as only fresh graduates cannot take up the task," he notes.
The company is working with 27/28 universities to help in developing skilled engineers by improving educational curriculum.
Mr Habibullah N Karim says country's IT companies usually operate with small capital while semiconductor industry needs billions of taka in investment to impart training.
"Matching grants of government for startup companies could help them to develop human resources."
A coordinated effort of private sector, academia and government could help develop a high-end pool of experts and encourage talented engineers to join the industry, he adds.
The CEO of MetroNet Bangladesh Ltd, Syed Almas Kabir, also former president of BASIS and Bangladesh-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BMCCI), mentions that neighbouring India has been proceeding towards fabrication of semiconductor while China, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea have fabrication plants.
More companies would be encouraged to grab the opportunity if the government extends fiscal support, tax breaks, he says.
He shared interest of Malaysian Governor in Penang during his visit to Malaysia earlier to hire electrical engineers from Bangladesh for semiconductor industry. Other countries are incentivizing their industry to grab the potential of semiconductor market and it is required in Bangladesh, too.
Taposh Kumar Mazumder, Executive Director of Walton Hi-tech Industries Limited, has said the company had a plan to invest in semiconductor industry but now it halted after the company found some barriers here.
"Semiconductor industry needs huge investment and uninterrupted supply-chain managements in a country," he added.
"People used to laugh at us at the beginning. Now we have clients like US tech-giant Apple, Taiwan's semiconductor-giant TSMC," says Md Muzammel Hossain, manager, branding and public relations, in ULKASEMI
The company has around 25-26 regular clients, which was only 10 in number five years back.
Golam Sarwar Bhuiya, Director (technical) of Hitech Park Authority, says they are planning to set up a testing laboratory as per investors' requirement for semiconductor industry.
Skill-development training would be imparted under a World Bank (WB) project, he says, emphasizing the authority's effort to attract more investment in hi-tech.
He agrees fabrication stage of semiconductors needs some policy supports, including intellectual property rights.
The ICT ministry is also working on framing a policy to facilitate growth of the industry, he says.
Shabbir A Khan, president of BMCCI, says some $300 billion worth of investment has been made in Malaysia, including Intel's $70 billion, in semiconductor industry.
"A delegation from Malaysia may visit Bangladesh in next two-three months to explore the possibility skills trainings here," he says.
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