KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 — Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan said he had a productive working visit to Malaysia this week, which included meetings with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

In a post on X, Tan said Intel has maintained a presence in Penang since 1972, adding that the state remains a major engineering hub for both Intel Products and Intel Foundry.

He said he was “delighted” to meet Intel employees in Malaysia and to visit the company’s new advanced packaging facility in Penang, which he said would soon become one of the largest of its kind in the world.

The Intel CEO also shared lighter moments from the trip, noting that he enjoyed Penang’s well-known char koay teow and “the king of all fruit, durian”.

Tan, who was born in Muar and later grew up in Singapore, first trained as a physicist before moving into nuclear engineering at MIT and completing an MBA in the United States. 

His early academic path paved the way for a decades-long career in the global chip sector.

He founded Walden International in 1987, becoming one of the most influential venture capital figures in semiconductors, and later led Cadence Design Systems through a successful turnaround as chief executive. 

Tan returned to Intel this year to helm the company as it works to rebuild its manufacturing edge and expand its foundry ambitions.