Intel Malaysia 2008 Highlights & Outlook for 2009

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, December 29, 2008 – 2008 has been a very positive year for Intel. Apart from extending its technology leadership in its 45 nanometer (nm) manufacturing process, Intel also introduced a wide range of new products, achieved several R&D, environmental and corporate milestones this year. In addition, the company also spearheaded a number of marketing campaigns in Malaysia to stimulate consumer demand and spur further market growth among local PC manufacturers. (For more details on key highlights in 2008, please refer to Page 4 of this press statement).

As we close 2008 and move ahead into 2009, Intel Malaysia executives would like to share their thoughts on the company’s achievements made in 2008 as well as their expectations for the next year:

Atul Bhargava, Managing Director, Intel Malaysia:
2008 was a great year for Intel Malaysia as the site made valuable contributions to key product designs, qualifications and manufacturing. We will continue to invest and innovate and have the best products in the future, because we have a very strong business model. Since Intel is a key ingredient in all aspects of computing and communications, we feel we will emerge from this cycle stronger than ever because of that.

As part of Intel’s 40th year anniversary, Intel Malaysia contributed over 118,105 volunteer hours to the community in Malaysia. This represented more than 10 per cent of the global 1 million volunteer hours that Intel had committed to achieve in 2008 as a way to honour its 40th year of business.

Intel remains committed to the investments it has made in Malaysia. After all, we have been here for more than 36 years, have invested nearly USD4 billion and currently employ close to 10,000 people to support our operations in Malaysia.

More importantly, Intel believes in investing for the future. While the economic outlook remains uncertain for 2009, we believe that Intel Malaysia is very well positioned competitively. We have been through many cycles before and the one thing we have learned is you cannot save your way out of a downturn. If companies want to be competitive, they need to invest to emerge as winners in a downturn. Companies that fall off the investment cycle in IT are taking a risk and next generation IT solutions will give them that winning edge.

We should also bear in mind that while business activity may slow down, the big challenges around energy, the environment, healthcare, education, and life sciences aren't going away. If anything they will get tougher. Hence, investment in new technology can address these critical issues in Malaysia as well as globally. All said and done, Intel believes that technology has been the engine of the economy for some time, and will continue to be so in the future.


Ryaz Patel, Country Manager, Sales and Marketing, Intel Malaysia:
While 2009 will be a challenging year, we are confident that a concerted effort by consumers, corporations, and the government will enable Malaysia to emerge out of this economic transition stronger than before. With shrinking global demand and less foreign direct investments available, the global marketplace will be even more competitive. It is therefore imperative for all Malaysians to raise the national productivity levels so that we can stay ahead of the curve, and make the country an attractive location for more foreign investments.

Naturally, ICT will continue to play a critical role in helping to increase productivity levels, hence the focus for strategic investments should be channelled towards ICT as a key enabler for sustained growth.

In this respect, Intel is playing its part to ensure that computing is made affordable to all Malaysians, and this includes rolling out campaigns such as volume aggregation programs that help consumers save by pooling their purchasing power. Today, new PCs and many other computing devices are already priced below RM1,000 to satisfy the basic computing needs of many consumers. Meanwhile, companies that require more computing horsepower can opt for Intel’s full suite of processors that are designed to cater to the breadth and depth of any computing environment.

We are also committed to accelerate broadband adoption in Malaysia because widespread and affordable Internet access will allow Malaysians to be more competitive in a global economy. An example of our commitment in accelerating broadband adoption in Malaysia is Intel Capital’s decision to invest RM50 million in Green Packet to kick-start Malaysia’s first mobile WiMAX network. Intel and Green Packet’s subsidiary, Packet One Networks are working together to deploy Malaysia’s first nationwide 802.16e WiMAX network. This is a significant milestone for Malaysia and WiMAX as it represents the first large scale commercial deployment of mobile WiMAX in Southeast Asia and the first large scale deployment of an 802.16e 2.3GHz WiMAX network outside of Korea.

There are still a billion people who aren’t connected to the Internet, and all around the world governments are looking to invest in technology as a way to be competitive. The Malaysian government understands this challenge and has done much to invest in and embrace technology. While this is commendable, we wish to encourage the government to keep the momentum going by reviewing other ICT-related areas that can help stimulate further economic growth in the country. This includes unlocking the Universal Service Provider funds to support broadband infrastructure deployment in the country.

A review of the existing Internet backhaul charges by the government would also be a welcome move because this would contribute significantly towards reducing the cost of international bandwidth charges to the Internet. This move will make Malaysia more competitive and also opens the door for growth and more inbound investments in areas such as Shared Services Outsourcing and the setting up of regional data farms.