Feeling chippy? It might be because the world is running out of chips. It’s a silent and ongoing crisis that has affected our car, desktop, credit card, and video-game production!

• What happened? An unlucky mix of the pandemic, geopolitical tensions, facility breakdowns, and more. 
• The result.  Price increases, long waiting times for supply, and reselling. 

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🚘 What are chips, anyway

Semiconductors (which usually come in the form of chips) conduct the flow of electricity. 

They're essential in the modern world!

•  ATMs, trains, the internet—we need semiconductor chips to make them work. 

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🐿️ SEA is chipping in?

The US, the EU, India (and many more governments and companies) made moves to boost global chip manufacturing. 

Enter Bosch. This global supplier just opened a semiconductor test center for chips and sensors in Malaysia. 

• What this means. Asia’s going to get access to semiconductor chips faster.
• They’ll also invest around $384.35M on a back-end site in Penang until 2030. 

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🇲🇾 More on Malaysia

They contribute about 13% of global back-end manufacturing of chips.

• They’ll do final testing of chips made in Germany. 

And also. Malaysia’s currently trying to be a data hub for Microsoft and Alphabet (Google). Why? It’s trying to be a neutral supply chain base amid US-China tensions.