US-based pure-play foundry GlobalFoundries is said to be in the midst of personnel restructuring, with speculation suggesting a relocation of certain job roles from Singapore and Taiwan to India. However, the company has not officially confirmed these rumors.
Ko Ja (Cayman), a maker of Membrane Touch Switches (MTS) used mainly for notebook keyboards, has been actively investing in chemical and optical materials while strengthening its foothold in the Noteook computer (NB) market by acquiring stakes in upstream supplier firms. Ko Ja's new investments are applied in the healthcare, lighting, and aesthetic medicine industries.
The shipping industry, passenger or cargo, has slowly recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels. It is worth noting that since air cargo capacities were booked up by e-commerce demand, failing to make appropriate adjustments in shipping components by air for regional production schedules may result in a breaking point in the supply chain.
Taiwan-based cloud service providers (CSP) and software companies have been increasing their investments in Southeast Asia, as they target business opportunities in the region. CloudMile has announced a new center of excellence in Malaysia, in addition to pursuing a dual-headquarter strategy in both Taipei and Singapore. Gogolook will have dual headquarters in Taipei and Bangkok, with top-level personnel based in the Thai capital.
Fluence, a leading global provider of grid-scale energy storage solutions, announced the establishment of its Taiwanese subsidiary, Fluence Energy Taiwan, at a press conference on March 12. Fluence APAC President Jan Teichmann stated that the company is now focusing on the Taiwanese market by officially launching its subsidiary following successful expansions in the Philippines, Australia, and India.
The US wants to help the Philippines double its semiconductor facilities, to lessen the geographic concentration of the global chip supply chain, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a business forum in Manila on Tuesday.
Southeast Asia is highly favorable for establishing PCB production bases under current circumstances, thanks to its huge labor force, low labor expenses, and fewer geopolitical hazards, according to the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA).
Samsung Electronics is set to launch 83-inch OLED and 98-inch LCD TVs in the South Korean domestic market, and its highest-end Micro LED TV will also expand to emerging markets like Vietnam and India, accelerating the global deployment of its product lines. Meanwhile, LG Electronics is taking a dual-track approach with OLED and QNED TVs to compete in the high-end market.
PC peripherals maker Thermaltake Chairperson Kenny Lin announced that the company is shifting from a components brand to a systems brand, with its core business being water-cooling eSports system solutions. The firm's revenue from the water-cooling solutions is expected to double this year to US$20 million. Adding to this bright outlook is the 30% year-on-year growth projection in Thermaltake's bicycle business.
In a recently announced chipmaking project in India in partnership with India and Thailand-based companies, Renesas expressed cautiousness about the investments by starting with ATMP facilities.
According to the information released by National Taiwan University (NTU), a bachelor's degree program in semiconductor engineering lectured in English will be launched in the September semester of 2024. Though the tuition is estimated at NT$250,000 (US$7,918) per semester, or nearly US$16,000 a year, the 25 student seats in the program are already snapped up by the end of February.
Medhini Group, a Malaysia-based project management firm serving high-tech industries, is in talks with several Indian companies for semiconductor-related projects.
The Taiwanese Printed Circuit Board (PCB) industry is actively expanding its operations into ASEAN countries, such as Thailand and Vietnam, to enhance the resilience of the global PCB supply chain. Sources revealed that representatives from the Republic of China (Taiwan) have engaged in discussions with the Thai government, seeking maximum support for manufacturers from Taiwan.
Amid the global geopolitical tension and an indigenization endeavor, China has seen an outflow of investments in the chip packaging and test industry when a series of Taiwan-based companies sold their assets or operations in China. The business will likely witness a more diversified production as companies move away from China into Southeast and South Asia.
