The electric vehicles (EV) industry in India continues to experience significant growth, with investments coming in from both local and foreign EV manufacturers. While India may not be the biggest EV market in the world right now, the country has the potential to become a major EV hub in years to come.

According to a report by Bain, the EV market in India is at an inflection point. In terms of sales, EVs accounted for about 5% of total vehicles sold between October 2022 and September 2023. But it’s estimated these figures could grow to encompass more than 40% of India’s automotive market by 2030, generating over US$100 billion in revenue.

To achieve this, Bain’s report says the country needs concerted strategies that include new product development, go-to-market and distribution, customer segment prioritization, software development, and charging infrastructure. Several of these interventions will require category-specific stakeholder action.

The Indian government has already introduced several initiatives to boost EVs in India. These include schemes and policies launched to support the manufacturing and adoption of EVs in India, such as:

• Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)-I & II: This scheme provides subsidies to buyers of electric vehicles, especially those used for public transportation or commercial use. The subsidy is linked to the battery capacity of the vehicle.
• Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP): This program aims to create a local supply chain for EV components and batteries, and to reduce the import dependence of the EV industry. It provides incentives and tax benefits to domestic manufacturers of EV parts and cells.
• National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Storage: This mission focuses on creating a roadmap for the development and deployment of advanced battery technologies and storage solutions for EVs and other applications. It also supports the establishment of large-scale battery manufacturing plants in India.
• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) Battery Storage: This scheme offers financial incentives to boost domestic production of ACC batteries, which are essential for EVs and renewable energy integration. The scheme envisages establishing a cumulative ACC battery manufacturing capacity of 50 GWh in India.
• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Automobile and Auto Component Industry: This scheme provides financial incentives to promote the manufacturing of advanced automotive technologies, including EVs and their components.

Foreign EV manufacturers in India

Currently, the biggest EV manufacturer in India is Tata Motors, which is a well-known car maker in India and the largest EV producer in the country. Tata Motors has launched several EV models, such as the Nexon EV, the Tigor EV, and the Tiago EV, and has also developed its own Ziptron technology for battery and motor performance.

India is also home to several foreign EV manufacturers that have set up plants in the country. The foreign EVs manufactured in India are both for local markets as well as to be exported to other countries as well.

Currently, some of the foreign EVs in India include:

• Hyundai – The South Korean automaker already has a presence in India with its conventional and hybrid vehicles. The company is planning to start producing EVs at its Talegaon factory in Maharashtra from 2025, with an annual capacity of 100,000 units.
• MG Motor – The British-owned, Chinese-backed automaker that launched its first EV model, the ZS EV, in India in 2020. The company has a manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat, where it plans to increase its EV production capacity from 3,000 units per year to 10,000 units per year by 2022.
• BYD: The Chinese EV maker has partnered with India’s Olectra Greentech to produce electric buses and vans in India. The company has a manufacturing facility in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it can produce up to 5,000 electric buses per year.

Tesla is also expected to announce manufacturing plans in India this year. In fact, Tesla has been exploring the possibility of entering the Indian market for several years. However, the company has faced some challenges and delays due to the high import duties, regulatory hurdles, and infrastructure issues in India.

Last year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met up with Elon Musk and was able to convince him to invest in the country. As such, there have been reports that Tesla is inching closer to an agreement with the Indian government to start importing and selling its EVs in India in 2024. The company is also reportedly considering the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu for setting up its first-ever manufacturing facility in India, which could be operational by 2025.

VinFast invests in India

Following its global success, Vietnamese EV manufacturer VinFast has announced a partnership with the Tamil Nadu State Government in India to charge the development of green transportation in the country. VinFast and the state government will work towards a total investment of up to US$2 billion, with an initial commitment of US$500 million in the first phase of the project.

The investment includes the establishment of VinFast’s integrated electric vehicle facility in Tamil Nadu. It is anticipated to generate approximately 3,000 – 3,500 employment opportunities locally. Situated in Thoothukudi, the VinFast Tamil Nadu project aims to evolve into a first-class electric vehicle production hub in the region, with an annual capacity of up to 150,000 units. Construction of the plant is anticipated to begin in 2024.

Besides the economic benefits, the project will also pave the way for green transportation development, targeting 30% of newly registered private cars to be electric. This aligns with the state government’s initiatives to minimize carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

“The MoU demonstrates VinFast’s strong commitment to the sustainable development and vision of a zero-emission transportation future. We believe that investing in Tamil Nadu will not only bring considerable economic benefits to both parties but will also help accelerate the green energy transition in India and the region,” commented Tran Mai Hoa, deputy CEO of sales and marketing at VinFast Global.

Dr. TRB Rajaa, Minister of Industries of the Government of Tamil Nadu, stated, “EV manufacturing companies are not only important economic drivers but also powerful accelerators to the State’s green vision. We are delighted that VinFast has chosen to invest in Tamil Nadu to establish its integrated EV facility. Possessing robust capabilities and unwavering commitment to a sustainable future, I believe that VinFast will emerge as a reliable economic partner and substantial contributor to Tamil Nadu’s long-term development.”

The green mobility project by VinFast is its biggest investment. The project will create many positive impacts on the economy and society. Both sides will also work together and explore options for setting up charging stations to promote a sustainable transportation future.

The post VinFast makes huge EV investments in India    appeared first on TechWire Asia.

In an era where gaming has not only become a dominant form of entertainment but also a significant contributor to economies worldwide, the spotlight is turning towards emerging markets. Vietnam, recognized for its rapid digital evolution and tech-savvy population, is carving out a notable position in the global gaming arena. As part of this development, key industry players are stepping in to foster the nation’s gaming prowess and catapult it onto the world stage.

During the Games Industry Showcase event, Google Cloud revealed advancements aimed at assisting Vietnamese game businesses to attain a global reach, aligning with the Ministry of Information and Communications’ ambition to boost the local gaming sector’s earnings from US$600 million to US$1 billion in five years.

Google Cloud’s expanded partnerships with VNGGames, Amanotes, and Wolffun Game were unveiled, as these game entities tap into Google Cloud’s robust infrastructure, data analysis, and AI offerings. This collaboration aims to better cater to large player bases, unearth game insights, hasten product launches, and elevate real-time gaming experiences.

Toan Duc Nguyen, Google Cloud’s country manager for Vietnam, reflected on the past, noting that as smartphone adoption surged a decade ago, Vietnamese game developers were quick to capitalize on the trend.

The Worlds First Web3 Gaming Esports Center! ????

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Featured games included @Spider_Tanks & @oneuniverseCA from @GoGalaGames and @CitizenConflict

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— Justin (@Justin_The_Mind) October 7, 2023

The mobile-first gaming evolution in Vietnam

Nguyen observed, “Today, nearly half of the planet plays games; the majority through their mobile device. Vietnam’s mobile-first consumer economy and vast developer talent pool, combined with investments in full-fiber networks by telcos like FPT Corporation and games companies’ willingness to embrace new technologies to supercharge game production, could very well enable its games industry to leapfrog established games markets—which are better known for console and PC games—in exporting high-quality mobile games for the rest of the world.”

With predictions suggesting global gaming revenue surpassing US$187 billion in 2023 – over five times the expected global cinema ticket sales for the same year – the potential for global expansion in the gaming sector is evident.

The future of the gaming industry is firmly anchored in live service games. In 2022, the list of the top 10 most engaged games consisted entirely of such live games, continually captivating players with fresh content and gameplay dynamics.

Google Cloud offers developers the tools to link players with game servers on the most extensive and secure network in the world.

Consider the challenge of game launches. They’re tricky because developers must preemptively gauge their game’s success. Questions like, “Will my game attract thousands or millions of simultaneous players?” arise. Paradoxically, the worst-case scenario can sometimes be overwhelming success: failing to accommodate all the players eager to engage with the game.

Serving the largest player audiences

For game developers, success should be a cause for celebration, not concern.

VNGGames, an Asian game publisher, utilizes Google Cloud’s infrastructure and protection tools, assisted by Cloud Ace, for games like Gunny Origins and Dead Target. This ensures fast, secure content delivery to their global player base. Their use of Google Cloud’s database service ensures players’ progress is never lost.

Le Trong Giap, the chief of Game Publishing Platform at VNGGames, explained that the foundational tech that backs massive live services like Google Search and YouTube is now empowering them to offer real-time gaming to players across various regions. “We do not need to compromise between achieving performance, manageability, and scale, since Google Cloud services have effectively eliminated the need for manual infrastructure configurations,” he added.

Wolffun Game, launching titles Thetan Arena and Heroes Strike internationally, employed Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Cloud Kinetics for a smooth player experience. This setup enabled global eSports connectivity, scaling to meet demand. Both games, backed by Google Cloud, have attracted millions of gamers worldwide. Wolffun Game is further enhancing its new game, Thetan Rivals, with Agones—a server solution by Google Cloud and Ubisoft—for optimized player pairing.

Gaming’s global appeal

With over three billion global gamers, developers need to smartly segment players using analytics and AI. This helps predict new game feature success, customize player offers, and adapt games for different regions.

Amanotes, a music game publisher, employs Google Cloud’s real-time analytics to merge separated player and game data. This aids in everything from gameplay decisions to music licensing. As a result, titles like Magic Tiles 3 have found success in numerous countries, including the UK, US, and Brazil.

Embracing AI as a tech breakthrough, Amanotes collaborates with Google Cloud and Cloud Ace for machine learning, ensuring efficient game development and delivery to their expansive user base.

Bill Vo of Amanotes credits Google Cloud’s AI and analytics for the firm’s three billion game downloads, highlighting the critical support from Google’s expert team.

Similarly, VNGGames utilizes Google Cloud’s Translation API for quick game localization, recognizing game-specific terms. This has enabled faster market entry for games like Revolution Thien Du in Southeast Asia.

Giap underscores the importance of culturally and linguistically tailored games, praising Google’s advanced translation services for streamlining the traditionally lengthy localization process.

The leap into generative AI for gaming creativity in Vietnam

Game content creation is a significant cost for studios in terms of money and manpower. As player demand rises, many teams find it tough to produce new content, especially when scaling globally.

Generative AI allows rapid creation of new content types using foundational models. It can help teams expedite the content creation process, from code to dialogue.

Wolffun Game plans to use Google Cloud’s Vertex AI for advanced chatbots in Thetan Rivals. These chatbots will interact naturally with players and generate custom game assets on-the-fly. Wolffun also aims to leverage generative AI in Thetan Creator, producing unique game elements based on player feedback.

Wolffun Game’s CEO, Nguyen Dinh Khanh, said that finalizing Thetan Rivals took over six months, particularly focusing on its artistic aspects. He noted, “We chose Google Cloud because its enterprise-grade generative AI includes built-in mechanisms that allow us to harness this technology while respecting intellectual property rights and safeguarding our proprietary data.

“With AI enhancing human creativity to accelerate future game production, our goal for Thetan Rivals is to attract 100 million players worldwide and provide a customizable system for every player to freely express themselves through user-generated content.”

Generative AI’s impact on gaming will be as transformative as 3D graphics and smartphones were. Embracing such tech positions the gaming industry as an innovation leader.

To help Vietnam gaming businesses to make the best use of generative AI, Google Cloud has launched training modules and tools, offering free courses like the Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path and The Arcade.

The post How Google Cloud is setting the gaming scene in Vietnam appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Since the Vietnam War, trade and diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam have not been at their best. For the U.S., doing business with a communist country was historically considered problematic, to say the least. However, things have changed over the last decade, especially with the U.S.–Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership, which was signed a decade ago.

Today, Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. However, the country is also aware of China’s influence on its trade. Although communist ideology is no longer considered a threat, the U.S. continues to worry about China’s expansion. This concern includes not only China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, but also its expanding global influence over the world of technology.

Despite U.S. sanctions on its supply chain, China remains a powerhouse in industries ranging from quantum computing and 5G to semiconductors. At the same time, China’s low-cost technology has become a key factor for American businesses. Currently, most large American businesses, such as Tesla and Apple, manufacture their products in China.

However, with increasing pressure from the U.S. on how these companies can continue to operate in China, many are exploring other countries as alternative locations for their manufacturing plants. Both India and Southeast Asia have emerged as likely destinations for American businesses looking to continue their manufacturing operations without significantly impacting their budgets.

Improving US-Vietnam relations

While India has proven to be a worthy competitor to China, its geographic location could result in slightly higher supply chain costs. As a result, more American businesses are considering Vietnam as the ideal location for their production facilities and supply chain management.

According to a report by The Financial Times, the U.S. and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen their ties in response to China’s growing influence. American companies signed deals and partnerships worth billions of dollars during U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent visit to the country.

The President visited Vietnam after the G20 Summit in India. The deals and partnerships signed included  agreements with Boeing, Microsoft and NVIDIA. NVIDIA will be partnering with FPT, Viettel and Vingroup to deploy AI solutions across the cloud, automotive and healthcare industries. Meta and Microsoft have also partnered with Vietnamese companies to roll out AI software across Vietnam to promote digital transformation.

“We’re deepening our cooperation on critical and emerging technologies, particularly around building a more resilient semiconductor supply chain,” said Biden in a joint press conference late on Sunday with Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.

“We’re expanding our economic partnership, spurring even greater trade and investment between our nations.”

U.S. and Vietnam semiconductor partnership

The White House affirmed the U.S.’s commitment to increasing support for Vietnam in the training and development of a high-tech workforce. Acknowledging Vietnam’s tremendous potential as a major player in the semiconductor industry, both President Biden and General Secretary Phu Trong expressed their energetic support for the rapid development of Vietnam’s semiconductor ecosystem to improve its position in the global semiconductor supply chain.

“Toward this end, the United States and Vietnam announced the launch of semiconductor workforce development initiatives – supported by initial seed funding of US$2 million from the U.S. government, in conjunction with future Vietnamese government and private sector support,” the White House statement said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department announced its partnership with the Vietnamese Government to explore opportunities for growing and diversifying the global semiconductor ecosystem under the International Technology Security and Innovation (ITSI) Fund, established by the CHIPS Act of 2022.

“Vietnam shows promise as a partner in ensuring the semiconductor supply chain is diverse and resilient. Products ranging from vehicles to medical devices increasingly rely on semiconductors as the building blocks of today’s economy. By building on Vietnam’s existing strengths in assembly, testing, and packaging. This collaboration strives to identify new opportunities that attract industry investments and expand the technical workforces in both countries.

The partnership is beginning with a review of Vietnam’s current semiconductor ecosystem, regulatory framework, and workforce and infrastructure needs. The outcome of this review will inform potential future collaboration on developing this critical sector,” said the State Department.

Several U.S. companies also announced plans to build manufacturing plants in the country. Marvell Technology had already announced plans to build a world-class design center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in May. The site will be home to advanced semiconductor engineering and will be a top technology workplace for employees to enhance their skills and achieve outstanding career opportunities.

Apart from Marvell, Amkor unveiled a new US$1.6 billion factory in the Bac Ninh Province. The plant will assemble, package and test chips, with operations beginning at the end of 2023. Synopsys will also be starting a design and incubation center in conjunction with Saigon Hi-Tech Park.

U.S.-Vietnam relations – a new chapter?

The post Vietnam could be the answer to U.S. chip supply chain appeared first on TechWire Asia.

The gaming industry is tipped to maintain its rapid growth, and could be worth US$321 billion by 2026, a PwC report says. Continuous technological advancements in the gaming industry are significantly propelling the industry’s growth. They are enhancing the way games are created and improving the overall gaming experience of the users.

While console games like PlayStation and Xbox have been dominating the industry for many years, mobile phone gaming is now the biggest contributor to the gaming industry. Revenue in the mobile games market is projected to reach US$377 billion and have 2.3 billion users by 2027.

Popular mobile phone games like PUBG, Pokemon Go, and bMobile World Legends continue to push growth for the gaming industry. China remains the country that will generate the most revenue in gaming, despite regulations being made on the number of hours school students can play games.

At the same time, there is also an increase in cloud gaming services. These games focus on leveraging hyper-scale cloud capabilities, streaming media services, and global content delivery networks to build the next generation of social entertainment platforms. These factors have an anticipated positive impact on market growth. Cloud technology in the gaming market is likely to drive the demand and engagement of multi-players for different games.

Southeast Asia’s gaming industry

The gaming industry in Southeast Asia is a rather unique one. While the level of digital transformation and technology adoption varies in each country, when it comes to gaming, almost all ASEAN nations are moving at the same pace.

With half of Southeast Asia’s leading mobile game publishers being Chinese companies, some western companies are also beginning to move their headquarters to this part of the world.

The gaming developer community is also growing in Southeast Asia. Companies such as Tencent Holdings, NetEase, Nexon, and Garena are among the major players, developing and publishing successful games catering to this market. Garena, a Singaporean company, was the biggest gaming company in Southeast Asia in 2021, in terms of profits.

In Malaysia, UK-based gaming company Double Eleven expanded in 2022 and opened a studio in Malaysia, where it plans to build its SEA base. In 2023, Xsolla, a video game commerce company headquartered in the US, officially opened its new Kuala Lumpur office. The Malaysian location will reportedly be Xsolla’s largest office outside of Los Angeles.

In Singapore, the country’s approach to developing the gaming sector has focused on posturing itself as a regional gaming hub for top global studios like Ubisoft, Riot Games, and Bandai Namco. The Singapore government has also provided funding and support for Ubisoft and other multinational companies in the country, in the hope that these studios will help cultivate more local game developers.

Vietnam’s gaming industry

While Malaysia and Singapore continue to develop game developers, Vietnam is actually making a big mark in the gaming industry. In the first half of 2023, Vietnam is one of the top five nations in terms of mobile game downloads, as indicated by data.ai.

Remember Flappy Bird? It remains the most popular game to come out of Vietnam. Since then, Vietnamese gaming developers have faced growing challenges in the industry, especially with stricter data collection regulations.

According to a report by Bloomberg, despite being one of the five countries under communist governance, the burgeoning gaming sector’s growth in Vietnam isn’t particularly surprising to those familiar with its economy. The nation boasts remarkably high smartphone penetration rates in Asia, coupled with a youthful demographic where nearly half of its population is below the age of 30.

Driving this phenomenon is a burgeoning group of game developers and fledgling publishing startups in the local gaming industry. Amanotes, renowned for its mobile music-themed games, and OneSoft, the publisher behind Falcon Squad, exemplify this ascent.

Furthermore, their success reflects Vietnam’s accomplishments in strengthening its educational framework. Vietnamese students consistently outshine their peers in the U.S. and other countries on PISA test evaluations, while a fervent interest in engineering and technology prevails. Coding camps tailored for children are progressively gaining traction, and academic institutions have incorporated game development into their curricula.

The government appears to be supporting the growth of Vietnam’s gaming industry as well. It recently decided to scrap plans for taxing online gaming services, providing some relief to domestic gaming companies.

Interestingly, Vietnam is already a popular alternative for US companies that are looking to move manufacturing out of China. Perhaps this could also lead to more American gaming companies setting up hubs in Vietnam as well. For now, Vietnam’s gaming industry seems to be headed in the right direction and could be a powerhouse in the future.

The post Can Vietnam be a powerhouse in the gaming industry? appeared first on TechWire Asia.

China has long been the most lucrative nation for Apple Inc — it is both an important market, and a critical supply base for the iPhone maker. Because China is so deeply entangled in Apple’s supply chain, decoupling from the market would cost the tech giant a lot — yet that has not stopped Apple from diversifying to reduce its risks from all the complication that comes from relying heavily on China.

While that will soon be a huge loss for China, two countries that have been the biggest beneficiaries from the decoupling have been Vietnam and India. Specifically Vietnam, the country has been generally welcoming manufacturers keen to shift production away from China, among which includes Apple.

It started with Vietnamese manufacturers having previously been contracted to make some of Apple’s flagship products including iPads and AirPods. Then when the Covid-19 lockdowns affected the supply chain in China, the Cupertino-based tech giant gradually started shifting its iPad production to Vietnam. Apple’s leading iPad assembler, BYD, were reportedly assembling the tablets at its production lines in Vietnam.

The most recent update, shared by Nikkei Asia this week, is that Vietnam will begin producing some Apple MacBook computers in 2023. The move, if proven true, would be a significant one considering MacBook is Apple’s last major product still manufactured solely in China. The shift could also mean that it is getting tougher for Apple to grapple with ​​increased US-China trade tensions and supply chain disruptions related to Covid lockdowns.

For starters, China has been its most prominent manufacturing hub due to various factors such as a well-trained workforce, low costs relative to the US, and a deep network of parts suppliers that are hard to recreate elsewhere without years of effort. In the meantime though, especially over the years, with the escalation of the trade war, Vietnam has slowly been rising to be Apple’s most important manufacturing hub. 

To recall, Apple was reportedly in talks in August to move some production for its Apple Watches, MacBooks and HomePods to Vietnam. Now, the company’s assembly partner Foxconn could begin producing MacBooks in the country as soon as May, according to Nikkei Asia. To put it into context, Apple makes around 20 million to 24 million MacBooks each year, and apparently the company has been planning to shift some of its MacBook production to Vietnam for the last two years. 

The report also highlighted that the complexity of MacBook Pro production means the move has taken longer than it did for the iPad and AirPods. “After the MacBook production shifts,” an unspecified source told Nikkei Asia, “all of Apple’s flagship products basically will have one more production location beyond China [with] iPhones in India and MacBooks, the Apple Watch and iPads in Vietnam.”

A JPMorgan analysis forecasts that the current figure of 95% of Apple products made in China will drop to about 75% by 2025. JPMorgan also estimates that Apple will relocate 20% of iPad, 5% of MacBooks, 20% of Apple Watch, and 65% of AirPods to be manufactured in Vietnam by 2025. As it is, Apple has moved 11 Taiwanese enterprises’ factories in its supply chain to Vietnam.

Several important firms such as Foxconn, Luxshare, Pegatron, and Wistron have also expanded their existing production facilities in Vietnam. Around the time the media reported on Apple’s relocating process to Vietnam, Foxconn Corporation signed a contract with Saigon – Bac Giang Industrial Park Joint Stock Company (SBG) in August to lease an additional 50.5 hectares of land to build a new factory. 

The post Vietnam to start producing MacBook in 2023 as Apple decouples from China appeared first on TechWire Asia.

As one of the leading vendors for industrial automation services, Rockwell Automation is known for supporting companies across a broad range of manufacturing activities and enterprise digitalization. The company operates worldwide with North America being its largest market. Over the last few years however, Asia Pacific has been gradually growing to become a significant market for Rockwell.

It is especially apparent in its financial results: sales, orders, and earnings grew in double digits during the recently concluded fourth quarter and fiscal 2022. In a November 2 statement, Rockwell noted that it had delivered strong operational performance even in Asia Pacific, amidst continued supply chain volatility, significant inflation, and currency headwinds. 

“Our strong orders and sales performance in fiscal 2022 reflect the compelling value we provide to our customers across many industries and regions,” CEO and chairman Blake Moret said. He also noted that Rockwell’s record backlog, underlying customer demand, and a more resilient operating model positions them well for another year of profitable double-digit growth.

“Now more than ever, Rockwell is committed to investing in attracting and retaining key talent. It’s the people who bring our strategy to life by supporting the immediate needs of our customers while focusing on continued innovation and investments for the future,” Moret concluded.

Tech Wire Asia took the opportunity to speak with Scott Wooldridge, president for Rockwell Automation Asia Pacific, at the recent Automation Fair held in Chicago. The conversation centered around Rockwell’s presence in the Asia Pacific and how a company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation steered itself through rough economic conditions.

The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How has Rockwell Automation been performing in Asia Pacific over the last two years?

In general, the business has been strong, you would have seen our results this year where we had similar revenue growth to last year’s, particularly in Asia Pacific. I think we had the benefit of being in key industries we work in, particularly in Asia. Those industries include life sciences, semiconductor, and tyres among others and that certainly helped sustain our business. Today, we also do a lot of professional services work besides providing products. 

With services, it was certainly challenging, because we’re used to having a mobile workforce. Border restrictions did not make it easier, so that prompted us to look at our resourcing in Asia. We grew our resources for the region by more than 10% last year. In general, we have been investing significantly in Asia. Overall, despite the challenges, the period had a lot of growth as well.

You mentioned that you grew your resources pool by 10% last year. Do you see that being a problem right now considering the waves of layoffs?

Yeah, I don’t see that happening, not in the short term as well for Rockwell. It is certainly not a part of our strategy. We have acquired companies and made strategic investments and having a diversified industry portfolio actually gives us some protection. In fact, we have customers that have been with Rockwell for 70 to 80 years and even in a recession, they look at different ways to optimize their supply chain or manufacturing. 

We often find different parts of our business grow during a recession, faster than some other segments. 

What are the revenue contributions like from APAC, and what is it like in terms of workforce?

It is approximately 14% by revenue and by headcount it’s 7,000 out of 26,000 globally. The headcount makes up to 20 to 23% of the global headcount and that is reflective of our global engineering centers and software development campuses in Asia that support our global efforts.

In the whole of APAC, which country or market would you reckon IS the strongest for Rockwell?

Our largest market in Asia is China.

Considering that China is repetitively in a very tight Covid zero policy, how has that been for Rockwell? Has that been disruptive to your business?

It hasn’t been disruptive because we have a critical mass in China, so it’s relatively self-sufficient. In fact, for the first time in three years, we had four of our China team join us at this event. Generally, our two largest pools of people in Asia are India and China, so there’s a fair amount of self-sufficiency on the ground. In terms of what we do in both the countries, there is some manufacturing in China for global export as well as some software development, but less people for the global operations as opposed to India.

As a company, we have a stated objective to grow faster in North America and Asia Pacific and that clearly means we want to geographically diversify. China is still a growth engine for us and it is growing as fast as anywhere else and we are still investing in the country. But if I look more broadly, we see good opportunities in particular in India, Vietnam and Indonesia, as large markets that are growing quickly and are aligned to our verticals.

What excites you about India since there are quite a lot of policy tailwinds as well?

I have certainly seen that change over the last five years. Everything from taxation policy to the ability to get permits for new facilities, there’s been a definite improvement. Especially in the ability of local governments to drive decisions quickly and help improve the industrial footprint. We are also seeing investments everywhere from semiconductor to EV, on top of our very large footprint in Life Sciences. 

I think when it comes to doing business there, traditional concerns around taxation, planning permits, and infrastructures have improved substantially. That said, we see India as a growth driver for our business.

In your opinion, which of your business segments has the biggest growth opportunity in APAC? 

I think as a sustainable growth industry, electric vehicles are very important and we work across the supply chain — we work with mining factories, with battery production, in almost every assembly, and we also work in battery recycling. So that gives us opportunities with multiple different types of customers. To top it off, one of Rockwell’s strongest vertical markets is tires. Even semiconductors have grown dramatically, which we think is a great opportunity, but not necessarily sustainable at that level. Life sciences is strong across the region and at Rockwell our second largest division is food and beverage, it’s one of our recession-proof areas.

The post Rockwell Automation: Beating the odds and growing strong in Asia Pacific appeared first on TechWire Asia.

Over the last few years, Southeast Asia (SEA) has become more intertwined in regional and global trade, providing companies with a long-term export base as economic nationalism and outright protectionism elsewhere remain on the rise. A lot of businesses have started to look at countries within the region for their manufacturing requirements, while manufacturers within the region themselves have been accelerating their pace.

This is true for US-based Rockwell Automation, a provider of control devices and software for industrial automation, who sees Southeast Asia as one of the fastest growing sub-regions for the company. By 2030, the manufacturing industry in Southeast Asia is anticipated to generate up to US$600 billion a year, according to the global consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG). 

While the pandemic may have slowed many companies down, for Rockwell Automation, it was the opposite. “I think we have been doing quite well in the region. We were progressing very well since the pandemic, assisting customers in their digitisation journey throughout the last two years or so,” Regional director for Rockwell Automation Southeast Asia Marcelo Tarkieltaub. 

Considering the region is one of Rockwell Automation’s highest growing markets, the US-based company has no plans on slowing down. In fact, they have planned on continued investment, especially when it comes to people and resources. At the recently held Automation Fair in Chicago, Illinois, TWA had the chance to sit with Tarkieltaub to discuss more about the company’s presence and plans within SEA.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

How did Rockwell Automation perform in Southeast Asia since the pandemic?

I think we have been faring quite well in the region. During the pandemic specifically, we have been helping our customers to speed up some of those decisions about their digital journey. Especially those with factories, they came to us for solutions because they do not have sufficient manpower to operate their plant.  So the demand for our products and services was skyrocketing and still is.

Essentially, I think we are creating value to the Asian region now, especially in Southeast Asia, and while there are challenges in demographics, with different countries, we try to take our global knowledge and expertise and combine them with local capabilities. That said, the market has been very positive for us, even during the pandemic. Now, as we get out of the pandemic, I think it’s just continuing to be very, very active.

How has the company been dealing with the uncertainties hitting the region and the world at large?

Truth be told, our strategies and how we’re executing them haven’t changed from before and during the pandemic. I think that the reason for our success is that the strategy the company has is aligned to constant changes. That is my belief at least, that we have been successful mostly because of how we were tackling and delivering that to the market.

Are there any plans or projects for Rockwell to increase its footprint in Southeast Asia? 

We have been investing in the region significantly. In fact, we have a very large operation in Southeast Asia, with almost 1000 employees today. We have a big operation in Singapore, where we officially develop and manufacture products there, and there we also have a technology center that we call the Pacific Business Center. Generally, the operational responsibility for Southeast Asia is in Singapore.

Frankly, all the countries we are in within Southeast Asia have been fascinating, even during the pandemic, especially since demand and needs within the market have been growing. We will continue to invest in the region because for us, it is a high-growing region. The direction we are going now is to keep investing in resources and people to deliver our customer needs because after all Southeast Asia is one of our highest growing markets.

Which country has been your strongest market within Southeast Asia?

We have been outperforming pretty much every single country in Southeast Asia in the recent year ending September. It was a fantastic 2022 for us, for all six major countries in the region. Now, we see a big growth in Malaysia because lots of investments on manufacturing are headed there, as well as to Vietnam and Indonesia.

For Indonesia specifically, the internal demand itself is huge, given that it’s the third largest population in the world. You have a lot of people who consume products and that demand brings a lot of opportunities into the manufacturing space. Overall, Vietnam combined with Malaysia, I would say, are the two countries that we see a lot happening within the manufacturing segment. We see a lot of future growth in those two countries right now.

Have Rockwell Automation considered other business segments besides manufacturing?

Electric Vehicles are definitely a market that we are looking at, but it is still at a very nascent stage for Southeast Asia. In other countries or regions, progress is happening faster. In fact, we’re working in several of the countries we have presence in, assisting local governments and industries for expertise in battery car manufacturing. In that area we are among the leaders in the world. Essentially, when it comes to EVs, a lot of the work with our customers is to get the infrastructure ready.

Within the battery segment, we have started to look at battery recycling since that is the future. We are also seeing a lot of growth in the region when it comes to the semiconductor and electronics industry. We see fantastic growth because there is a high demand for chips and a huge need to create new capacity to meet those demands. 

On Rockwell’s plans for semiconductors, what is the direction the company is looking at?

It will be more on assisting our clients through their journey of digitization within the semiconductor industry. The knowledge we have as a company is different, so growing it and serving the markets in this region is essentially it. Taking the expertise that we have and expanding that so we can keep supporting customers and helping them grow.

Lasty, considering the economic downturn around the world as well as reduced spending due to the rising interest rates, have you noticed a reduction in customer spending?

To be honest, so far, we have not seen a reduction in our visibility of the business. We are still very optimistic on the business as we look forward into 2023 and we are expected to finish this year strong as well. No doubt, we might see some bumps along the way because the market has changed for the better but as mentioned, the strategies we have will allow us to always bring value to the manufacturers. 

Even in the long run, we are optimistic about how the market in Southeast Asia will be performing. Acter all, we have been growing fast even during the worst part of the pandemic.

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Not every economy in the world, let alone Asia, have reported economic growth during the first two years of the pandemic — but Vietnam did. Even in 2020, Vietnam came out as a top-performing Asian economy — a feat achieved without a single quarter of economic contraction at a time when many economies globally were scrambling to deal with the pandemic.

As we march into the third year since the pandemic first struck, Vietnam’s growth continues to surpass estimates and now, the Southeast Asian nation is the fastest growing digital economy in the region. According to the latest edition of the e-Conomy SEA report by Google, Temasek Holdings Pte and Bain & Co, led by a booming e-commerce sector, which hit US$14 billion this year, Vietnam is also anticipated to witness a 28% year-on-year (YoY) increase in gross merchandise value (GMV) to US$23 billion.

The annual report shares an update on how digital economy sectors are tracking across six countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. This time it projects that Southeast Asia’s digital economy is on track to hit US$200 billion GMV in 2022, three years earlier than was anticipated in the inaugural report shared in 2016.

Touching on what has been enabling Vietnam’s digital growth, Google, Temasek and Bain reckon it to be the growing penetration of new forms of commerce across urban and rural regions for businesses. To top it off, logistical infrastructure has improved to facilitate nationwide e-commerce transactions and there is a noticeably high quality homegrown tech workforce driving innovation in Vietnam. 

The report also highlighted how SMEs in Vietnam are empowered to operate online businesses via provision of digital front-end and back-end solutions and support from the government. While traditionally Singapore and Indonesia are primary investment destinations, this year Vietnam, and the Philippines are seeing growing investors’ interest over the longer term, the e-Conomy report noted.

The e-commerce sector alone had raised an estimated US$230 million in the first half of this year, thus appearing to be investors’ favorite. The online media sector also saw a significant amount of investments pouring, US$190 million till date, as highlighted by Google, Temasek and Bain.

Overall, the Southeast Asian region has witnessed a striking rise in internet users. Out of its 460 million internet users, 100 million have come online in the past three years alone. “E-commerce adoption is high across both urban and suburban consumers while services offered by the remaining sectors are mainly used by people living in urban areas. Suburban adoption of sectors such as groceries, travel and music-on-demand remains nascent and offers headroom for growth,” the report noted.

What is worth noting is the fact that demand amongst Southeast Asian consumers have been tapering amidst global macroeconomic headwinds, reduced disposable income, skyrocketing prices, and lower product availability. For now, digital sectors such as food delivery and online media are facing slowdowns after peak periods triggered by the pandemic. “Food delivery returns back to trendline growth after tripling through the pandemic and is expected to hit 14% growth in GMV,” the report reads.

On the other hand, transport and online travel sectors are expecting strong recovery, 43% and 115% YoY growth respectively, as mobility exceeds post-pandemic levels and international travel resumes. However, the e-Conomy report noted that those sectors would face headwinds such as increasing fuel prices, supply shortages, and continuing travel restrictions in high-value corridors (e.g. China, Korea, Japan), while consumer demand is suffering from skyrocketing prices. Unfortunately recovery is expected to be gradual and it will take years to reach 2019 levels. 

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The new law on October 1 will mandate all companies, foreign and domestic, with interests in major digital services like telecommunications, e-commerce, and online payments to store user data onshore. Covered under the data localization guidelines are information related to “users’ personal identities, financial records, digital footprints, and online connections and networks,” as per Nikkei Asia.

While Vietnamese tech startups have been developing their competencies at a rapid clip, and its manufacturing end has been establishing itself as a more cost-effective alternative with less political recriminations in contrast to traditionally dominant Chinese production that is now mired in geopolitical tension, the newer data localization rulings could possibly derail the positive sentiment and foreign direct investment (FDI) potential that the populous Southeast Asian economy has built up in recent years.

Multinational corporations active in the country will be given 12 months to comply with the new regulations, to be monitored by the Vietnam Communist Party’s Ministry of Public Security, with a compulsory requirement to establish locally registered offices in Vietnam “in the name of safeguarding national security, public order and the ‘legitimate interests’ of local individuals and organizations” points out Nikkei.

As China has faded into the background of FDI thanks to simmering political friction with the US (and the US’s powerful allies) and its controversial zero-COVID policy, and Vietnam has risen up in its place with a younger working-age population of 98 million – the workforce is less skilled and less technologically-advanced than China’s, but makes up for it with cheaper labor and land costs that is attractive to big plant builders – it is ironic that Vietnam’s cybersecurity and data localization decrees would mirror China’s in cracking down on “content that infringes national security, propagandizes against the state; incites violence; disrupts security or public order; is humiliating or slanderous” as noted by law firm Tilleke & Gibbins.

There is some ambiguity as to how these far-ranging laws would be enforced, but as pointed out by Tilleke & Gibbins, would also encompass the localization of data found in cloud storage, intermediary payment gateways, online transportation platforms, e-sports, social media, and “services of providing, managing, or operating other information in cyberspace in the form of messages, phone calls, video calls, email, or online chat.”

The broad collection and storage of personal data, including from major platforms like Facebook and Youtube which are so heavily used that they are major drivers of social discourse in Vietnam, could be interpreted as being outside the domain of business interests that major international companies might want to be associated with.

The unprecedented data localization changes have been drawing flak from US business groups since the rules became known, with a joint letter sent to Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce Hanoi, and the Asia Internet Coalition asking for clarification on the interpretation of much of the abstract language used in the clauses. Business and policy directors are speculating that how the rules are enforced could put companies at a competitive disadvantage, affecting their ability to attract vendors and certain types of customers.

The cost to quickly implement actions with potentially high overheads, such as recruiting local talent and building up a local office, is also worrying foreign entities who have been operating with a purely digital presence in the country for some time.

There also mounting concerns with Vietnam’s trade partners in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), like Canada and Japan. “Canada continues to urge Vietnam to implement its laws and regulations applicable to the transfer and storage/processing of data in a manner that is consistent with its commitments in Chapter 14: Electronic Commerce of the [CPTPP],” Global Affairs Canada Spokesperson Lama Khodr was quoted by Nikkei Asia, which also pointed out that the Japanese government had “expressed concerns” about data localization contravening CPTPP trade guidelines, and would be keeping a “close watch on the consistency between the Law on Cybersecurity and Vietnam’s obligations under relevant international agreements.”

It’s worth highlighting that the likes of Facebook and Youtube have gone along with previous requests from the Vietnamese government to take down content that could be deemed to be sensitive from the political and social spheres, but did not break any international laws.

A host of international players including Samsung, Apple, and NTT have invested heavily in Vietnamese production facilities, bringing in millions of dollars in FDI, and the emerging Southeast Asian economy risks endangering the influx that is helping turn the country into a regional powerhouse.

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Over the last couple of years, global semiconductor makers have been betting on Vietnam as their next production destination for the chip industry.  The country is preferred by big semiconductor players like Samsung and Intel for its favorable demographics with relatively low labor costs and human resources. But the time has come for Vietnam to climb up the supply chain as the country’s leading tech giant FPT Software just made its foray into the semiconductor space.

Earlier this week, FPT Software announced that it has formed a new subsidiary, FPT Semiconductor, marking the company’s entry into the booming semiconductor industry. The aim is to gain a slice of Asia Pacific’s semiconductor market which accounts for 60% of global sales. FPT Semiconductor has in fact released its first integrated circuits (ICs), which were designed in Vietnam and manufactured in South Korea, in August 2022.

For context, an IC, sometimes called a chip, microchip or microelectronic circuit, is a semiconductor wafer on which thousands or millions of tiny resistors, capacitors, diodes and transistors are fabricated. According to FPT, those ICs will be used in Internet of Things (IoT) medical devices. By 2023, FPT Semiconductor plans to supply 25 million chips globally to meet diverse needs in telecommunications, IoT, automotive technology, energy, electronics, and others.

FPT Semiconductor’s founder and CEO Nguyen Vinh Quang, in a statement said, the company is looking forward to contributing to the development of the fast-growing semiconductor industry in Vietnam and Asia on a broader scale. “FPT Semiconductor looks to become the chip supplier of choice for businesses in Vietnam and further in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, the US, and Europe” he said.

The company’s foray into the semiconductor industry for chip making comes 23 years after leading in IT services and solutions in Vietnam. Considering that worldwide semiconductor revenue is expected to reach US$661 billion in value by this year, according to IDC, it’s only timely for Vietnam to move up the value chain.

Chips are up for Vietnam’s semiconductor industry

Just recently it was reported that the world’s largest memory chipmaker, Samsung, will begin making semiconductor parts in Vietnam in July 2023. The South Korean giant is apparently testing ball grid array products and intends to mass produce them at the Samsung Electro-Mechanics Vietnam factory in northern Thai Nguyen province. This comes after Samsung, earlier this year, poured another US$920 million into its electronic components plant in Thai Nguyen.

Till date, Samsung is Vietnam’s biggest foreign direct investor, first investing US$1.3 billion in the electro-mechanics unit in 2013, which produces mainboards and other electronic components. Last year, the number climbed to US$18 billion. The electronics giant also has six plants in the country and is building a new research and development center in the capital Hanoi.

Before Samsung, Vietnam had Intel Products Vietnam (IPV), the largest assembly and testing plant in Intel’s network. The complex has received more than US$1.5 billion over the past 15 years from the components industry giant, which makes the manufacturing plant one of Intel’s largest factories.  Intel also committed to spend US$475 million last year, to build a cutting-edge microelectronics testing and assembly facility in Vietnam. 

During the global chip crisis, IPV maintained stable operations and made several innovative contributions to help fill the semiconductor shortage. Other chipmakers, including Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, SK Hynix, and NXP Semiconductors have also built research centers and factories in Vietnam.  Then there is Hayward Quartz Technology, a large OEM supplier, that had secured approval earlier this year, to construct a US$110 million plant in Vietnam. Once up and running, the site will make crystal silicon blocks, plastic polymers, and other materials used in microelectronics fabrication.

Even Pegatron, one of Apple’s EMS providers, spent US$22.9 million to buy land in Vietnam. The corporation intends to invest a further US$1 billion to establish significant production capacity in the area.Tow other Apple device assemblers, Foxconn and Wistron, have plans in the pipeline to expand its footprint in Vietnam.

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