Polymatech enters MENA with $16.2-million Bahrain funding

Top company officials said Chennai-based opto-semiconductor chip maker Polymatech Electronics is investing $16.2 million (about Rs 136 crore) in Bahrain as part of its strategy to spend more than $100 million in the Gulf nation by 2027.This investment marks the first phase of Polymatech’s foray into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, the officials told ET.

Polymatech designs, manufactures, packages, and assembles opto-semiconductor chips and modules. Opto-semiconductors are electronic devices that either emit or detect light, and are used in a variety of applications, including medical lighting, large-area lighting, cell phone backlights, agriculture, PCs, and laptops.

"This is the first investment in the kingdom of Bahrain in the field of semiconductors," Ali AlMudaifa, chief of business development at Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) said. "A project as strategic and as impactful as this also stands to benefit a lot from our labour fund in Bahrain, which is aimed towards the human capital development and upskilling of Bahraini talent in this field."

He added that advanced manufacturing, particularly microelectronics, was even specified as a subsector of focus under the island nation's manufacturing and industrial strategy when the economic recovery plan in October 2021 was launched.