As global electronics and semiconductor supply chains reconfigure, Malaysia has positioned itself not just as a manufacturing destination but as a stabilizing hub around which a wider ASEAN network is starting to form. This panel explores how regional partnerships are converging into a more coordinated, resilient ecosystem.

This presentation outlines the transformation of buildings from isolated, proprietary automation systems to secure, IP-driven smart environments. It highlights the convergence of building technologies with IT infrastructure, enabling seamless communication between devices, cloud services and operational systems. The presentation promotes a harmonised, multi-standard IoT framework based on secure IP networking, delivering benefits such as improved interoperability, scalability, simplified management and enhanced cybersecurity. The vision extends beyond building automation towards intelligent, data-driven services where buildings become active participants in digital ecosystems. Through common IP-based infrastructure and IoT technologies, smart homes and buildings can support future applications, sustainability goals and innovative service-oriented business models.

Malaysia is hosting one of the fastest data centre build-outs in Asia. But hosting the boom is not winning it. Of every ringgit spent inside a data hall, how much actually stays here in Malaysia? The answer may well surprise you. Drawing on first-hand experience delivering hyperscale DC, the speaker takes you behind the site hoarding: the equipment that arrives too late, the vendor list local firms rarely see, and the chips that will be ripped out and replaced long before the building itself ages. Then comes the twist: the real opportunity has not even started yet.

3 Key Learnings:
1. Where the money really goes. Of every ringgit spent in a data hall, how much stays in Malaysia?
2. The gate you never see. Why local firms lose before the tender even opens.
3. The wave after the boom. Why the biggest opportunity hasn’t started yet.”

Malaysia’s ambition to move further up the semiconductor value chain will require more than infrastructure or funding alone. In Selangor, a public-private partnership model is being used to bring together government, industry, ecosystem builders and private capital to support the development of a stronger semiconductor ecosystem. This session will explore how these different elements can complement one another, including the role of strategic capital in helping companies grow and scale. It will also consider how Selangor’s experience can contribute to strengthening Malaysia’s broader semiconductor capabilities and long-term competitiveness.

3 Key learnings:

1. A strong semiconductor ecosystem needs capital, talent, infrastructure and market access to work together.
2. Public-private partnerships combine the strengths of government, industry and investors to accelerate ecosystem development.
3. Strategic capital can help semiconductor companies scale while supporting Malaysia’s move into higher-value activities.

The past 5 years has seen an exponential use of AI, especially edge AI in Semiconductor Manufacturing. Although Assembly and Test operations has lagged behind Front End Wafer Fabs in using AI applications, the increasing high cost of Capex and fast increasing labour cost has made it essential for Assembly and Test Factories to modernize with AI. AI enables Assembly and Test factories to achieve 20%-30% efficiency improvements. Other improvements include yield, quality and cycle time. With latest developments, Agentic Edge AI can even be applied as a “bolt on” to legacy machines. These will make “Autonomous Machines” a reality instead of just a dream.

Malaysia’s manufacturing sector is deeply integrated into global value chains, making alignment with evolving sustainability regulations and standards, both locally and internationally increasingly important for maintaining competitiveness, accessing new markets and attracting investment. This session explores how a double materiality lens can help manufacturers move beyond compliance by considering both their impacts on people and the environment and the financial implications of sustainability-related issues. By connecting these perspectives, manufacturers can develop a more holistic understanding of the sustainability issues that matter to their business and stakeholders. The approach can strengthen risk management and business strategy while enabling decision-useful information for stakeholders and communities.

Manufacturers often struggle to translate ESG commitments into consistent operational decisions. This session presents a practical AI-assisted workflow that connects daily manufacturing activities with recognised sustainability benchmarks. Drawing on leading practices from companies in the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Top 100 Index and aligning them with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it shows how manufacturers can identify material priorities, track operational indicators, detect gaps, assign actions and produce auditable evidence. The session also addresses data quality, responsible AI use, human oversight and governance. Participants will gain a repeatable framework for moving from periodic ESG disclosure to measurable daily improvement across operations, supply chains and management decisions.

3 Key Learnings:

1. Translate ESG commitments into daily action: Convert sustainability goals and reporting requirements into practical operational workflows, responsibilities and measurable activities.
2. Apply AI responsibly to ESG management: Use AI-assisted workflows to identify gaps, monitor indicators, prioritise interventions and generate auditable evidence with appropriate human oversight.
3. Benchmark performance against recognised standards: Connect manufacturing practices with insights from the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Top 100 Index and the UN Sustainable Development Goals to support continuous improvement.”

Every company, almost regardless of size, needs to embed a measurable amount of sustainability, circularity and traceability. ESG is well known; for many, circularity is still a work in progress and traceability is the next stage in compliance. Ms Zsakay’s presentation will deliver insights into circularity and traceability, introducing the UN Transparency Protocol, for the TechSphere industry.

1. Designing for material management
2. Traceability to empower material management and the circular economy
3. Learning about the UN Transparency Protocol

As industries move from the automation-first mindset of Industry 4.0 to the collaborative paradigm of Industry 5.0, leadership and TVET must fundamentally evolve. This talk explores how leaders can shift from technology implementers to orchestrators of human-machine teaming. It highlights the urgent need for TVET systems to move beyond technical upskilling, embedding human-centric competencies like critical thinking, adaptability, and ethical reasoning. Drawing on speaker’s thirty years of industry and academic experience, this session offers a practical playbook for leaders and educators to foster resilient, human-centred, AI-enabled factories.

3 Key Learnings:

1. From Tool to Teammate: Leaders must shift their mindset from automation-first to human-machine collaboration, redefining their role as orchestrators who empower human creativity, empathy, and judgment alongside AI and intelligent systems.
2. Redefining TVET Competencies: To prepare the future workforce for Industry 5.0, TVET and engineering education must move beyond technical upskilling to embed human-centric competencies—such as critical thinking, adaptability, and ethical reasoning—into their curricula and accreditation standards.
3. Escaping Pilot Purgatory: Sustainable Industry 5.0 success requires moving beyond efficiency-driven KPIs. Leaders must actively foster a culture of co-creation, audit their organization’s human-machine readiness, and measure success through innovation, resilience, and employee well-being.

Eh, go overseas lah. Better jobs there”. Sound familiar? But what does a better job actually mean, and can Malaysia offer it. Drawing on Jobstreet’s latest data and survey findings, this session unpacks what Malaysian talent truly values: fair and transparent pay, meaningful work, and a clear path to grow. We’ll explore what’s pulling talent abroad, what’s drawing global talent here, and why the skills your people build today must connect visibly to tomorrow’s opportunities and rewards. Because the answer isn’t just paying more. It’s making pay, purpose and progression work together to build jobs worth staying for.

Don’t miss this rara opportunity to hear five of Malaysia’s most influential voices in talent in direct discussion with one another – and for a time with the audience – on issues such as:

• Where is the biggest disconnect between policy, funding, training and actual industry requirements?
• Are existing incentives sufficient to encourage employers to invest in workforce transformation?
• How can SMEs participate more effectively in upskilling and reskilling?
• How can TVET providers respond faster to changing industrial requirements?
• What skills will Malaysia need to remain competitive in high-value industries?
• How can Government, industry and TVET share greater responsibility for talent development?
• What changes are required to strengthen Malaysia’s workforce competitiveness within ASEAN?