Engineering services and automation solutions provider 3REN Bhd is positioning itself to capture multi-year growth as the artificial intelligence boom drives investment across Penang’s semiconductor and electronics supply chain.
Chief executive officer Koh Dim Kuan said the group expects more opportunities as multinational corporations expand their operations in the state over the next two to three years, creating demand for automation equipment, product validation and engineering support. “The opportunity from the AI boom is becoming more about embedding ourselves in the expansion plans of global semiconductor and electronics players,” he told The Edge Malaysia.
The order book is already growing. As at 30 June 2026, 3REN held RM74 million in outstanding orders, up 30% from RM56.6 million a year earlier. Automation and digitalisation solutions (ADS) accounted for RM36.8 million, or 49.7%, followed by product engineering services at RM23.3 million and engineering support services at RM13.9 million.
The pipeline rests on a state semiconductor sector that keeps widening. Penang recorded RM17.3 billion in approved manufacturing investment in the first half of 2026, with the electrical and electronics sector contributing RM11 billion, NST reported, citing Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow. Between January and August, the state booked RM606 billion in exports, or 45% of the national total.
In ADS, 3REN supplies in-house-designed automated optical inspection equipment to a global electronics manufacturing services giant that makes power modules for data centre server boards. Koh said the customer aims to triple its revenue by 2028, and 3REN is already its preferred supplier. He expects ADS, about 36% of the group’s total business, to grow by around 30%.
An advanced packaging programme with its long-standing integrated device manufacturer customer carries similar weight. That customer has planned a US$7 billion (RM28.6 billion) facility in Bayan Lepas, with the first phase targeted to begin operations in late 2026 and expected to create more than 4,000 high-tech jobs.
Engineering services are gaining from the rising complexity of chip manufacturing. Engineering support services revenue rose 63% year on year in the second quarter, lifted by a higher recurring base as a major customer expanded its production footprint in Malaysia and Vietnam. Koh expects research and development, validation and advanced-packaging-related work to grow by about 15% to 20%.
He also sees a structural shift at work. Large chipmakers increasingly hand project work to outside specialists rather than hold permanent teams for every programme, which opens a role for 3REN as an extension of customers’ own engineering departments. Koh describes the ambition as becoming “like a mini-Accenture” for the semiconductor industry.
Growth beyond Malaysia follows the same customers. Singapore is the immediate priority, where the group already serves about 14 customers, with the United States and India under study. The “China plus one” and “Taiwan plus one” strategies, which push chipmakers and equipment makers to spread manufacturing across more countries, support that push.
Capacity is the constraint. 3REN had a workforce of 2,077 as at 30 June 2026, including 455 full-time employees, and is looking at additional space and facilities. “Workforce is a big factor. The second is infrastructure,” Koh said.
The numbers are following the order book. For the first half of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2026, net profit rose 24.8% to RM6.27 million while revenue climbed 39.3% to RM72.68 million. The shares closed at 39.5 sen last Wednesday, giving a market value of RM257.4 million, or nearly 42% above the 28 sen initial public offering price in November 2024. At an annualised net profit of RM12 million, the stock trades at an indicative price-earnings ratio of 21.3 times and is not covered by analysts.
