Industrial News

FOREIGN INVESTMENT pledges slumped by 63.6% in the first quarter as global economic challenges prompted investors to be more wary of investing in emerging markets like the Philippines, analysts said. Preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the value of foreign commitments approved by investment promotion agencies dropped to P148.43 billion in the January-to-March period from P408.22 billion a year earlier. This was also 63.4% lower than P394.45 billion in the final three months of 2023, and the lowest since the P27.3 billion logged in the third quarter of 2023. Singapore was the biggest source of approved investment pledges [...]

STB GIGAFACTORY, Inc. said its factory in New Clark City will start operations by July, and hopes to expand its capacity to the equivalent of two gigawatt-hours (GWh) worth of products within the next four years. “We’re projected to go live in July, and then in August we’ll have a big inauguration,” according to Dennis Chan Ibarra, chief executive officer of Australian-funded StB GigaFactory. StB GigaFactory produces batteries for energy storage backup for solar photovoltaic for residential, commercial, and industrial use. “We’re going to accelerate our plans to triple the volume to 2,000 megawatts. So, it has two GWh of [...]

This second part of EMSNOW's conversation with recently retired IMI CEO Arthur Tan focuses on the future: for the EMS industry, for IMI, and for Arthur personally. The discussion covers the current state of the business of electronics manufacturing; specifically the implications of the dramatically changing demand cycle, the future of globalization itself, the evolving EMS-OEM relationship and his plans for the future. This insightful interview includes wisdom gained from a long and successful career building and running a global EMS company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVkp_E2L8HI Information Source: https://youtu.be/qVkp_E2L8HI?si=3BBgUevlq3hNtbEL Original Video by: EMSNOW TV

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=RuGEoS0POdM This thoughtful conversation between EMSNOW and recently retired CEO of IMI Arthur Tan covers our guest's views about the past, present and future of the EMS industry since he began his time at IMI in 2001. His vision for this Philippines-based EMS brought the company from a small regional manufacturer serving Japanese OEMs to the global powerhouse it is today. The discussion covers some of the key early transactions that began the growth; what he sees as the top milestones of his career, which focus around the benefits to society and his employees; and much more. Original Video by: [...]

External pressures can not only create hard-to-navigate demands on a company but also cause the undoing of many a strong business. But Gary Dirige, onsemi Philippines General Manager, believes if the foundation of a strong and passionate team is in place, strategy can help weather the storm and lead to a more resistant business in the end. Dirige joined as General Manager at a critical time for intelligent power technology company onsemi’s Philippines division. "The whole semiconductor company was starting on the downturn. I came at a point where a lot of tough decisions had to be made and executed. [...]

Ayala-led Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) said its net loss widened to $109.19 million last year from $6.75 million in the previous year. The company said its financial results included one-time losses of $106.1 million related to the sale of STI Enterprises Ltd. which was divested on October 31, and impairment of goodwill and certain assets. IMI said its revenues was 6 percent lower to $1.32 billion, from $1.4 billion in the previous year, driven by factors attributable to its non-wholly owned subsidiary group including the shorter fiscal year of STI. “Through intensive collaboration with customer and supplier partners, IMI core [...]

Intel, GlobalFoundries and Infineon are some of the chip makers that have set up or expanded operations in Malaysia over the last few years. “Malaysia has well-established infrastructure with around five decades of experience in the ‘back end’ of the semiconductor manufacturing process, particularly in assembly, testing and packaging,” said Kenddrick Chan of LSE’s foreign policy think tank. This comes as a U.S.-China chip war prompted companies to diversify operations. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - 2018/01/24: A foreigner is seen with a Malaysia flag as a background. Kuala Lumpur or commonly known as KL is the national capital for Malaysia and [...]

Nvidia on Monday announced a major expansion of its collaboration with world-leading BYD and other Chinese electric car makers, including on the development of autonomous AI-boosted vehicles. The move deepens Nvidia’s connections with the Chinese EV industry even as it is separately prohibited by the United States from exporting its most powerful AI hardware to China. BYD, which beat Elon Musk’s Tesla in sales in the last quarter of 2023, is the latest Chinese auto firm to use Nvidia’s DRIVE Thor, an all-in-one vehicle control system that is bolstered by powerful generative AI features. “Today we’re announcing that BYD, the [...]

The company’s 2023 Pilot and Technician Outlook (PTO) projects that commercial carriers will need significant personnel through 2042 to support the global commercial fleet: 649,000 pilots 690,000 maintenance technicians 938,000 cabin crew members. Through 2042, the PTO projects: China, Eurasia and North America drive demand for more than half of new industry personnel, with requirements in China surpassing North America. The fastest-growing regions for personnel are Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia, with their regional demand expected to nearly double. After omitting demand for Russia in last year’s PTO due to uncertainty in the region, this year’s forecast includes Russia in the Eurasia region, and it comprises 3% of global demand for personnel. The PTO forecast [...]

The energy innovation vehicle of former coal baron Trevor St Baker has inked a deal with the Philippines government to more than double the output of battery manufacturing facilities it is building in the archipelago, to a potential output of 2GWh a year. The St Baker Energy Innovation Fund is currently developing two factories in New Clark City in the Philippines as part of $10 million project capable of producing the equivalent of 600MWh or about 15,000 lithium iron phosphate batteries a year. As part of three memoranda of understanding overseen by Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Trevor St [...]