KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing global supply chain restructuring as multinational corporations continue diversifying operations beyond China and Taiwan amid persistent geopolitical tensions, according to Apex Securities Bhd.
In a market outlook report today, the brokerage said the country would benefit from relocation and expansion activities across semiconductor assembly and testing, electrical and electronics manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, data centres and supporting industrial ecosystems.
Apex Securities said the recent summit between United States (US) President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing signalled tactical stabilisation in bilateral relations rather than a structural reset, with core tensions involving semiconductors, AI, supply chains, and Taiwan remaining unresolved.
“While the Trump-Xi summit may provide tactical relief for global equities by reducing the probability of near-term trade escalation, we believe the broader trend of supply-chain diversification away from excessive China and Taiwan concentration remains structurally intact.
“Recent geopolitical developments also reinforce the importance of supply-chain resilience, particularly as rising cross-strait tensions highlight the risks of overdependence on a single semiconductor and manufacturing hub, which should continue to support Malaysia’s medium- to long-term investment proposition within the regional manufacturing and technology (tech) ecosystem,” it said.
Apex Securities cautioned that a military escalation across the Taiwan Strait could trigger a major global tech supply shock, given Taiwan’s central role in the semiconductor ecosystem, particularly in advanced AI and high-performance computing chips.
“Any disruption to Taiwan’s semiconductor production or shipping lanes would not merely affect regional trade, but could potentially trigger a global tech supply shock with immediate implications for hyperscalers, AI infrastructure spending, consumer electronics, automotive production, and industrial automation,” it said.
The brokerage said the immediate market reaction could include aggressive selloffs across Asian equities and tech stocks, a flight into assets such as the US dollar and US Treasuries, and higher insurance and freight costs amid fears of regional shipping disruptions.
However, Apex Securities said a prolonged deterioration in cross-strait stability could accelerate the restructuring of global semiconductor and manufacturing supply chains faster than current market expectations, potentially benefiting ASEAN economies, including Malaysia, over the longer term.
“In this scenario, Malaysia could initially face near-term pressure from broad regional de-risking and weaker tech sentiment, but may ultimately emerge as a relative structural beneficiary given its position within the global semiconductor back-end ecosystem, expanding data-centre infrastructure, improving power availability and growing role within the China+1 diversification strategy,” it said.
Apex Securities said Malaysia-listed semiconductor-related companies, including Frontken Corporation Bhd, Mi Technovation Bhd and ViTrox Corporation Bhd, could emerge as medium- to long-term beneficiaries of the regionalisation of supply chains.
It said Frontken could benefit from long-term demand for high-purity cleaning and contamination-control services as semiconductor manufacturing increasingly diversifies across multiple geographies.
Mi Technovation may gain from rising urgency among semiconductor firms to establish alternative sourcing and advanced packaging capacity outside Taiwan and China, while ViTrox could benefit from growing demand for inspection systems and automation solutions arising from semiconductor regionalisation, it said.
On the broader market outlook, Apex Securities maintained its year-end target for the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI at 1,787.
The three-day Trump-Xi meeting held in Beijing from May 13-15, 2026, marked Trump’s first visit to China since returning to office and the first US presidential visit to China in nearly a decade.
During the meeting, Trump and Xi discussed key issues including trade, Taiwan, semiconductor restrictions, AI, the ongoing US-Iran conflict, stability in the Strait of Hormuz, energy security and broader global geopolitical tensions.
-- BERNAMA
