(March 12): Semiconductor designer SkyeChip Sdn Bhd is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in Malaysia as early as the second half of this year, people familiar with the matter said, riding on the country’s push to make its own chips. 

The company, founded in 2019, is targeting a price that would value it at more than RM1 billion, the people said, asking not to be named because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly. 

The size and timing of the offering may change as deliberations are ongoing, the people said. SkyeChip didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

Malaysia, which packages about a 10th of the world’s semiconductors, last week inked a pact to pay SoftBank Group Corp’s Arm Holdings plc US$250 million (RM1.11 billion) over 10 years for a slew of semiconductor-related licenses and know-how. The government plans to aid local companies to design their own chips and target semiconductor exports of RM1.2 trillion by 2030. 

SkyeChip is set to benefit from Malaysia’s chip ambitions because of the firm’s technical expertise, Cheow Ming Liang, an analyst at Kuala Lumpur-based Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd, wrote in a report last week.

Malaysia was among the bright spots for stock deals in Southeast Asia last year, with IPOs raising US$1.6 billion, the highest proceeds since 2017, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sizeable Malaysian offerings expected this year include those of MMC Port Holdings Sdn Bhd and Sunway Healthcare Group. 

Read also:
Anwar: RM1.1b partnership with UK’s Arm Holdings marks beginning of Malaysia’s second semiconductor wave
Rafizi: SoftBank’s Arm Holdings to drive Malaysia’s US$270b semiconductor chip goals

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