Oppstar share price rises on tie-up with Samsung
PETALING JAYA: Shares of Oppstar Bhd recorded the steepest jump in a single day since its listing, rallying by 16%, as investors piled on the shares following its tie-up with the world’s second-largest foundry owner Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

Oppstar hit a five-month high yesterday, touching an intraday high of RM1.55 before closing at RM1.45. A total of 41.9 million shares changed hands.

It was among the Top 20 most active stocks on Bursa Malaysia.

On April 29, the integrated circuit (IC) design service provider announced its collaboration with Samsung to produce industrial IC, which will be manufactured using Samsung’s 14 nanometre FinFET technology foundry process.

South Korean electronics giant, Samsung, is the largest memory chip manufacturer as well as the second largest foundry business company in the world.

According to independent market researcher, Counterpoint Research, Samsung holds a 14% market share in the global foundry market, as of the fourth quarter of 2023.

Speaking to StarBiz, Malaysia Semiconductor Industry Association (MSIA) president Datuk Seri Wong Siew Hai said the collaboration is a win-win situation for both parties.

“Through collaborations, we can move our semiconductor companies to produce high-end products.

“Anytime there’s a strategic alliance like this, it will be helpful to the IC company to create products and not just focus on design services,” he said.

The country’s semiconductor sector is expected to improve gradually underpinned by anticipated recovery in global demand and increasing trade diversion opportunities as a result of the China Plus One strategy, according to TA Research.

The research house stated that the global semiconductor industry is showing an upward trajectory as it posts another consecutive year-on-year sales growth.

In February, semiconductor sales stood at US$46.2bil, which was a 16.3% year-on-year growth from US$39.7bil in the same period of the corresponding year.

According to TA Research, the year-on-year sales growth was mainly driven by China, United States and the Asia-Pacific, contributing to a growth of 28.8%, 22% and 15.4% respectively.

“This marked year-on-year sales recovery for the fourth consecutive month, further validating our belief that the global semiconductor market is on track to recovery.

“We expect the market growth to persist during the remainder of the year,” it added.

MSIA also shared its bullish views on the sector, as the semiconductor industry in the country is expected to “shine” starting from the second half of 2024.

MSIA’s confidence was backed by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) prediction that stated the world semiconductor market would rebound by 13.1% in 2024 to reach US$588bil.

This was also supported by investors flocking to Malaysia amid geopolitical tensions, as well as competition for electric vehicle (EV) dominance which is expected to drive more demand.

“Looking at some reports, we can see that some (semiconductor) companies are losing their profit. However, we do expect some of this to begin improving, so you can expect to see a pickup towards the end of the year,” Wong said.

As the semiconductor exports have seen a 3% drop to RM575.45bil in 2023, he is “hopeful” that export sales will turn positive for 2024.

Additionally, the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) is preparing a comprehensive Strategic Semiconductor Masterplan by this month.

The strategic plan was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on April 16, in an effort to ensure Malaysia remains as the chosen investment destination within the semiconductor industry.

This is all while allowing the nation to progress up the global supply chain as well as ensuring Malaysia’s relevance within the industry.

Commenting on the announcement, Wong said the execution of the strategic masterplan is relevant and will be beneficial for the local semiconductor industry.

“The masterplan has to be developed to know which direction we would need to be taking, so I believe that it is definitely good.

It will help Malaysia and local companies to move up the value chain, in terms of economic complexity and the adoption of digital technologies,” he said.
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Shares of Oppstar Bhd recorded the steepest jump in a single day since its listing, rallying by 16%, as investors piled on the shares following its tie-up with the world’s second-largest foundry owner Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.