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    Since Singapore was separated from the Malaysian Confederation in 1965 and Malaysia underwent political unrest in the late 1960s, both countries have made remarkable progress towards modernization. The new focus has been on developing an industrial, export-oriented economic base, a major portion of which is focused on the electronics industry. Today, Singapore and Malaysia own a significant share of the world's electronics market, conduct state-of-the-art research and development projects, establish foreign ventures, and support universities and research institutes devoted to producing the countries' future engineers, scientists, and technical leaders.

    This book documents the technologies, manufacturing procedures, capabilities, and infrastructure that have enabled these countries to be so successful. This knowledge, coupled with knowledge of the planned future directions of Singapore and Malaysia's electronics industries, is vital for determining an appropriate competitive response for the U.S. An understanding of the present and future of Singapore and Malaysia's electronics industries is needed in order to determine in which market sectors to compete and in which areas subcontracting, outsourcing, partnership agreements, and foreign direct investment would be beneficial.

    The electronics industries of both Singapore and Malaysia are described in this one book rather than in separate books because of the strong relationship between the two countries. Both countries are active members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Water and other natural resources are carefully traded, as are human resources. For example, in 1995, Singapore employed 450,000 Malaysians. The two countries have also undertaken joint development projects that have affected their industrial and electronics development. Because of Singapore's acute labor shortage, Malaysia's educational and developmental needs, and the desire of Singapore to create a geographically-based development zone, these economic interactions are likely to accelerate.

    This book consists of seven chapters. The first chapter provides a background to the social-cultural-political evolution and development that has led each country to its current status. Chapters two and three individually examine the impact of each country's electronics industry upon their economies. Chapters four and five individually examine each country's electronics industry. Chapter six provides an analysis of the relationships between each country's government, university, and industrial sectors. The final chapter gives a summation of our findings.

    Research for this book was supported in part through a MANTECH program grant No. 60NANB500060 administered out of NIST, in part through the CALCE EPRC of University of Maryland, and in part through the NSF WTEC program managed out of Loyola College in Maryland.

    Many people have supplied us with technical information and other resource materials, and we are extremely grateful to them. These people include the WTEC team of experts including Michael Pecht of University of Maryland, C.W. Wong of Texas Instruments, Joseph Ranieri of Universal Instruments, Amelendu Sanyal of Digital Equipment Corporation, Bill Tucker of IBM, and Sam Wennberg of Delco Electronics and Dr. Swan-Jin Beh of Singapore's Economic Development Board (Washington D.C. office).

Acronyms

Chapter 1 Introduction
              1.1 History
              1.2 Geography
              1.3 Demographies
              1.4 Economy
              1.5 Education
              1.6 Culture
              1.7 Summary

Chapter 2 The Electronic Industry's Role in Singapore's Economy
              2.1 Background
              2.2 Status of the Industry
              2.3 Economic Indicators
              2.4 Manufacturing in Singapore's Economy
              2.5 Electroncs in Singapore's Economy
              2.6 Role of Trade

Chapter 3 The Electronic Industry's Role in Malaysia's Economy
              3.1 Background
              3.2 Status of the Industry
              3.3 Economic Indicators
              3.4 Manufacturing in Malaysia's Economy
              3.5 Role of Trade

Chapter 4 Electronics Production in Singapore
              4.1 Semiconductors and Packaging
              4.2 Products and Services
              4.3 Case Studies
 
Chapter 5 Electronics Production in Malaysia
              5.1 Semiconductors and Packaging
              5.2 Products and Services
              5.3 Case Studies

Chapter 6 Government and University Support of Advanced Technology Development
              6.1 Singapore
              6.2 Malaysia
              6.3 Summary

Chapter 7 Conclusions
              7.1 Singapore
              7.2 Malaysia
              7.3 Summary

References