The world’s biggest semiconductor fair, SEMICON West 2024, will take place on July 9-11 in San Francisco, California. CINDE will be participating to actively promote Costa Rica as an ideal destination for the semiconductor industry and attract new multinationals to our country.
The event takes place in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, where more than 600 participating firms in the semiconductor industry are expected to come together.
“Costa Rica was selected as a strategic U.S. Chips Act partner, and in our role as guides for attracting and promoting foreign investment in Costa Rica we are helping to position the country as a key player in the advanced manufacturing sector, promoting greater value-added industry processes such as microchip design, assembly, packaging, and testing,”affirmed Marianela Urgellés, CINDE’s managing director.
This is Costa Rica’s first time at SEMICON West, for which CINDE has joined SEMI, the leading global microelectronics association for driving business and addressing the industry’s global challenges. Among the smart initiatives under discussion are coordination of the industry’s sectors, innovation, all the standards for creating semiconductors with disruptive technology, and the creation of emerging and autonomous applications.
Guidance and reinforcement for the local ecosystem
Accompanied by BAC, Costa Rica’s largest private bank, and InnovaPark, a mixed free trade zone where manufacturing and logistics companies converge in world-class facilities with specialized services, CINDE will be exploring the country’s opportunities as a semiconductor value chain investment destination.
The three organizations are participating jointly in this event to reinforce the actions the ecosystem needs to give it a competitive advantage in attracting more companies, in addition to increasing the potential of companies already operating in Costa Rica and helping to create jobs.
Semiconductor development in Costa Rica: a golden opportunity going forward
Costa Rica is one of the best positioned countries for competing with Asian destinations in the supply chain. It also ranks as one of the top ten countries worldwide in terms of efficiency and speed of port operations according to the World Bank’s 2023 Logistics Performance Index. Its logistics performance exceeds the average of medium-high income countries, consolidating its position as a safe, stable destination that ensures business continuity backed by the rule of law.
“Our country has some 20 companies linked to the semiconductor ecosystem and another similar number of companies that indirectly supply or are already part of this ecosystem. We are already visualizing some two to four projects of companies with facilities in Costa Rica that are expanding or diversifying their operations due to increased demand caused by the restructuring of the semiconductor chain. Costa Rica is certainly extremely well positioned and we have a great opportunity ahead of us, but in order to take advantage of it there is work to be done, for example, in the continued specialization of Costa Rican human capital,” added Urgellés.
