Malaysia allocates four of seven Arm CSS tokens to local firms for chip development

In Kuala Lumpur, the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani, confirmed that four of the seven Arm Compute Subsystems (CSS) tokens allocated under Malaysia’s 2025 strategic collaboration with Arm Ltd have been awarded to local companies for semiconductor projects aimed at automotive, data centre and mini-server applications. He noted that three CSS tokens are still unallocated, while roughly four of the 25 Arm Flexible Access (AFA) tokens have already been assigned.

Development costs remain a major hurdle, with a basic chip requiring about US$50 million and more complex designs demanding higher investment, and project timelines ranging from two to two-and-a-half years. The New Incentive Framework, launched in March 2026, focuses on encouraging advanced manufacturing, supply-chain linkages, and the creation of high-income, high-value employment, offering measures such as investment tax allowances and special tax treatment on a case-by-case basis.

Johari emphasized that firms must demonstrate local supplier connections to qualify for incentives. These allocations mark the early stage of Malaysia’s effort to build a domestic semiconductor design ecosystem.