MUSCAT, FEB 21
Local capacity building is the next key step in developing the semiconductor industry in the Sultanate of Oman, according to Dr Ali al Shidhani Under-Secretary for Communications and Information Technology at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology.
Speaking at the recent 2024 MoTCIT Media Gathering, Dr Al Shidhani shed some insight on the status of the sector in the country, “Last year, we hosted a major conference where we invited semiconductor executives from around the world to come to Oman to explore what can be done here in the semiconductor industry. As you know, the semiconductor industry has a wide value chain, spanning from designing chips to manufacturing and distribution and in between. There are numerous other aspects in the semiconductor industry.”
“So for us, it was important that we assess our situation and understand our competitive advantage throughout the conference and our discussions with different companies in Oman and abroad. We've also invited the third largest semiconductor company in the world, SK Hynix, to explore different investment opportunities,” he added.
According to Dr Al Shidhani, more emphasis will be given to chip design and capacity building. “The way forward is to focus on design and to put more effort into capacity building.”
Additionally, he shared that the Ministry has plans of attracting more semiconductor companies to Oman, which will only be possible if there is an enhancement in the skillsets of graduates.
“We have currently have an existing company and we are looking for more companies to come to the country. But we will need to work on upskilling our graduates, specifically graduates in electronics engineering, computer engineering, and so on. We need to upskill them to be able to work in such world-class companies.” Earlier this year, Oman was successful in designing the first microchips “Oman-1” and “Oman-2” in collaboration with GSME Oman - the local affiliate of global semiconductor company GS Micro Electronics - as part of an agreement between the company and the Ministry of Labour, which also entailed the training of 100 young Omanis.
Oman’s keen venture into the global semiconductor industry - which was valued at almost $600 billion in 2021 - is part of its plans to boost its digital economy, which is expected to contribute a 3 per cent share of the local GDP by 2025, 5 per cent in 2035 and 10 per cent in 2040.
The sector currently contributes to 2 per cent of the country’s GDP.
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