Thailand Targets Chip Fab, Eight Design Firms by 2030

Thailand is targeting eight integrated-circuit design companies, one semiconductor fabrication plant and two advanced packaging facilities by 2030 as it seeks to expand its role in Asia’s chip supply chain.

The targets form part of the Siam Silica Framework, a programme covering semiconductor production, research, workforce development, international partnerships and investment. The framework was announced as Thailand pursued strategic semiconductor co-operation with the Netherlands and Belgium.

Details of the plan were discussed last week at a policy meeting chaired by deputy prime minister and higher education, science, research and innovation minister Yodchanan Wongsawat.

The framework focusses on five areas, including photonics fabrication, advanced packaging, silicon design, quantum photonics and power devices. The government wants to develop capabilities in segments that can draw on Thailand’s existing electronics and industrial manufacturing base.

The country sees particular opportunities in IC design, power semiconductors, photonic chips and sensors. IC design can generate high economic value with less capital than manufacturing. Other segments have relatively low entry costs, strong demand and no clear group of dominant producers, according to the government.

Printed circuit boards and printed circuit board assemblies are another priority, reflecting Thailand’s established position as an electronics production centre.

Building the workforce required to support those ambitions is one of the plan’s central challenges. Thailand estimates it will need 152 lecturers, 950 researchers, specialists and senior engineers, 553 highly skilled engineers and 1,330 technicians, a total of 2,985 people.

Government agencies are expected to support specialised training, industry-linked research, international partnerships and technology transfer. The plan also calls for degree programmes developed through Thailand’s higher-education sandbox and an expansion of the STEMPlus platform to reskill workers from established industries.

Universities, vocational institutions, companies and government agencies will be encouraged to develop work-integrated courses that give students experience inside semiconductor businesses. Officials have also proposed linking investment incentives more closely to workforce development and technology transfer.

Thailand is seeking to extend the effort across Southeast Asia. Its proposals for the ASEAN Semiconductor Roadmap include a regional talent observatory to track and forecast workforce requirements, a shared skills framework, joint research programmes and an expansion of the Thailand Skill Bridge initiative.

Bangkok has also proposed adding photonics and printed circuit boards to the regional roadmap as ASEAN economies seek to combine their capabilities across design, manufacturing, assembly, packaging and testing.

Separately, Thailand’s broader draft National Semiconductor and Advanced Electronics Strategy sets phased development targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050. The strategy aims to attract more than THB 2.5 Tn, or about $79 Bn, of investment and develop more than 230,000 skilled workers by 2050.

In the near term, it prioritises semiconductor assembly and testing, IC design and advanced electronics manufacturing, while encouraging investment in upstream activities such as wafer fabrication and the development of domestic semiconductor companies.

Thailand is focussing on power, sensor, photonic, and discrete and analogue semiconductors used in industries such as automobiles, energy, data centres and industrial manufacturing. Electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, AI infrastructure and factory automation are driving demand.

Electronics and electrical products accounted for about a quarter of Thailand’s exports in 2024. Electronics exports reached THB 1.86 Tn that year, while semiconductor exports totalled THB 436 Bn, according to the Board of Investment.

Applications for investment incentives in the electrical and electronics industry reached THB 1.17 Tn across 1,748 projects between 2018 and November 2025, making it the largest promoted sector by value.

Wongsawat instructed officials to refine the implementation plan and co-ordinate agencies responsible for training, research, infrastructure, regulation and investment.

Meeting the 2030 targets will depend on whether Thailand can convert its established electronics manufacturing base into the research, design and production capabilities required further up the semiconductor value chain.