Inflation, interest-rate hikes, the Ukraine-Russian War, and the US-China tech competition have impacted Taiwan's export performance, with export orders declining for the past 12 months before August 2023 straight. To stimulate exports and economic growth in 2024, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced on September 21 to launch four measures.

CloudMile, a leader in AI cloud solutions, is positioning itself as the driving force building a complete ecosystem in the GenAI industry and also as a key player in helping clients set up their data platforms. The company is also actively expanding into the Southeast Asian market, which it believes has lots of growth potential.

China-based EV maker BYD has been scaling up in overseas markets. Besides the competition with Tesla, its entry into the Thai market has garnered much attention. Support from Taiwan-based automotive parts suppliers has become essential for the carmaker's ambition in foreign markets.

Taiwan PCB Techvest (TPT) is constructing a new plant in Vietnam that will manufacture PCBs for primarily automotive and network device applications, and expects it to be fully operational and ready for production in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA) and the Thailand Trade and Economic Office (TTEO) recently jointly held the inaugural "Thai Student PCB Job Fair" aiming to help Taiwanese PCB makers address the urgent need for Thai talent to serve at their newly expanded manufacturing facilities in Thailand.

Malaysia and the broader 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations have emerged as the biggest beneficiaries of the supply chain realignment caused by rising US-China tensions, according to Trade Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on September 11 that the country will develop a policy to ban the exports of rare earth raw materials in an effort to boost local industry, according to local news outlet New Strait Times.

Following the semiconductor partnership between the US and Vietnam and US-based GlobalFoundries' opening of a new plant in Singapore, the US is looking to build a more diversified semiconductor supply chain, with South and Southeast Asian countries expected to emerge.

Amid the global supply chain realignment, Vietnam has emerged as a new link in the value chain for electronics manufacturing, inspiring some to imagine Vietnam's intention to develop its own semiconductor industry.

After a rocky start that resulted in financial loss in the first quarter, Global Lighting Technologies (GLT), a leader in light guide plate technology (LGP), reported a turn-around in the second quarter. Chairman Lee Mang-Shiang expects similar performance in the third quarter as the second, and despite the low visibility, better revenue could be possible in the fourth quarter.

Taiwan's electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, including companies such as Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) and Kymco (Kwang Yang Motor), is looking to adopt a new industry model and not just contract manufacturing in an effort to accelerate overseas deployments, according to industry sources.

Canalys research reveals that the Southeast Asia smartphone market fell 15% on-year in the second quarter of 2023 to 20.9 million units, the lowest shipment since 2014, as the unfavorable macroeconomic conditions continued. This led to an increase in old stock, stifling new initiatives and inventory from vendors and a lackluster festive season.

Infineon's German headquarters confirmed to DIGITIMES that it had certified the automotive-grade SiC produced by China-based material suppliers SICC and TankeBlue earlier than expected. Infineon also said it had started delivering the SiC products to global customers.

Unitech Printed Circuit Board is actively pursuing orders for AI accelerator cards and other AI-related devices in an effort to join the industry's supply chain by 2024, according to company VP and spokesperson Kanty Wu.

Optical components maker Asia Optical has disclosed plans to open a second plant in the Philippines, with the new facility scheduled to come online around the end of 2024.