The quest for green energy has intensified as nations strive for carbon neutrality. Taiwan's energy giants are nurturing the domestic green energy market and setting their sights on expanding across Southeast Asia and beyond.
As China-based BYD announced a US$1.3 billion investment in Indonesia, Hyundai Motor, which sees the country as a critical market, will likely take a countermeasure. The South Korean automaker will reportedly grow the production capacity of a battery plant built with LG Energy Solution (LGES) in the area.
Holtek Semiconductor, a leading professional IC design house focused on microcontrollers, partners with UnaBiz, a Singapore-based Massive IoT service provider and integrator, to integrate Sigfox 0G technology into Holtek's BC68F2150, an ultra-cost-efficient chipset. This collaboration aims to bring more energy-efficient and cost-effective Sigfox-based solutions for developers and customers in the logistics and supply chain sector.
Vietnam has officially joined the generative AI competition by unveiling its first homegrown ViGPT, following in the footsteps of Singapore and India. This move aligns with the country's plan, led by the Ministry of Information and Communications, to establish a large-scale language model (LLM) platform by 2025. While the future appears promising, it also brings to the forefront the pressing challenge of the country's notable talent shortage in the sector.
The global semiconductor industry has invested in Malaysia for over 50 years. With IC substrate maker Austria Technologie & Sytemtechnik (AT&S) starting production at its plant in Kulim, Malaysia has secured most of the value chain. The country takes advantage of the "plus one" strategy many global companies have adopted, hoping to become a high-end manufacturing hub.
With ChatGPT significantly boosting demand for AI servers, related supply chain players have seen orders for Copper Clad Laminate (CCL), PCB, and ABF substrates increase, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.
The previously announced new ABF substrate plant in Vietnam by Samsung Electro-Mechanics (Semco) was slated to begin production in the second half of 2023. However, due to a general market slowdown, the schedule has been pushed back to the second half of this year, according to a recent report by South Korea's ET News, citing industry sources.
Contract electronics maker Pegatron has announced plans to build a plant in Malaysia, bringing the total number of its manufacturing sites in Southeast Asia to four.
According to LCD TV and monitor ODM Amtran Technology, operating in Vietnam since 2018, the firm plans to launch the third phase of mass production at its Vietnamese plant in the second half of this year. In addition, the company's 2024 performance is expected to benefit from major sporting events and the FTAs (free trade agreements) Vietnam has with various regions.
Austria Technologie & Sytemtechnik (AT&S), one of the world's biggest PCB and IC substrate makers, opened its first new IC substrate plant in Kulim, Malaysia, on January 24. The company aims to begin high-end IC substrate deliveries for the data processors of AMD, one of its biggest customers, by the end of this year.
Thanks to rising production and exports by Apple suppliers, India continued to witness surging electronics exports, and the export momentum is expected to remain.