Selected business news articles
on global production |
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This section provides web links to selected
business news articles, focusing on the
development, organisation and competitiveness of industrial operations in emerging economies. |
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Despite the "Make in India" push, the share
of manufacturing sector in the GDP has stayed stagnant |
India has attempted to give an impetus to the manufacturing sector on
multiple occasions in the last decade. In 2014 Prime Minister Narendra
Modi launched the Make in India campaign in a bid to transform India into
a global manufacturing hub. After the pandemic pushed India into its worst
economic contraction since liberalisation in 1991, Modi, yet again,
pitched India to become the world’s factory in an effort to capitalise on
the United States-China trade war. These efforts have yielded little
result with the share of manufacturing in GDP remaining stagnant at about
17%. |
Scroll.in | 13 April 2021 |
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Fashion, Xinjiang and the perils of supply
chain transparency |
Fashion has found itself caught in the political crosshairs between
western and Chinese governments, forced to choose between the demands of
human rights groups, western consumers and their own employees on the one
hand, and the impulse to please China and its consumers in the world’s
second-largest economy on the other. |
FT.com | 9 April 2021 |
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In charts: Asia's manufacturing dominance |
Decades of investment from wealthy economies into lower-cost locations
have entrenched geographical shifts in manufacturing. Production of
semiconductors — the essential components of our digital infrastructure,
vehicles and devices — has steadily declined in the west, with East Asia
emerging as the main manufacturing hub. The US’s share of global
semiconductor manufacturing capacity fell from 37 per cent in 1990 to just
12 per cent last year, while Europe saw a 35 percentage point decline in
the period, to 9 per cent. China’s mainland expanded its share from almost
nothing to 15 per cent, a figure that is expected to rise to 24 per cent
in the next decade. |
FT.com | 24 March 2021 |
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Brazil's jet maker Embraer eyes home turf
of China's COMAC |
Brazilian jet maker Embraer, the world's top manufacturer of small passenger jets
called regional jets, aims to expand its share in China.
But China has its own homegrown aircraft maker,
Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC), and is keen to see the
country's three major state-owned airlines use COMAC jets. |
Nikkei Asia | 19 March 2021 |
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China is still a tier-3 manufacturer in global
rankings |
Although having become a large manufacturer, China lacks the control of
core technologies making up the top end of the global value chain.
According to Miao Wei, former Minister of Industry and Information
Technology, China remains heavily dependent on imports of basic components
and technologies (over 50 percent come from abroad), integrated circuits
(80 percent imported), large-scale and high-quality imports of castings
and forgings (90 percent imported), and imports of high-end hydraulic
parts and seals (100 percent dependent on imports). |
China Briefing | 19 March 2021 |
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Geely taps Foxconn's playbook to build EVs
for other carmakers |
Geely, China's largest private-sector automaker, has taken the first step
toward becoming the Foxconn of electric vehicles. Geely and Foxconn, the
Taiwanese Apple assembler, are establishing a 50-50 joint venture that
will manufacture whole electric vehicles for clients as well as parts.
Just like Foxconn did with iPhones, Geely will pursue an economy of scale
through contract manufacturing. Foxconn brings its expertise in procuring
components and ability to produce quality digital products. Geely will
provide the auto making know-how. |
Nikkei Asia | 10 March 2021 |
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SAIC's USD 4,500 electric car takes China
by storm |
Marketed as "the people's commuting tool", the Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV
has been a big hit for state-owned SAIC Motor, China's top automaker. SAIC
holds a majority stake in SAIC-GM-Wuling, the joint venture that produces
and sells the car and is known locally as Wuling, and General Motors is a
major shareholder as well. The boxy compact can travel 120 km on a full
charge and has a top speed of 100 kph. |
Nikkei Asia | 13 February 2021 |
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Indian automakers make profits surpassing
pre-COVID levels |
Indian auto companies witnessed a sharp recovery in earnings in the last
quarter of 2020, as the festival season boosted sales despite an economic
slowdown and rising cases of COVID-19. The top three auto manufacturers —
Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra — all posted
profits for the first time since the pandemic hit in early 2020. It was
also the best financial performance by the automakers in seven quarters in
terms of both revenue and net profit. |
Nikkei Asia | 8 February 2021 |
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China to build USD 300bn electronics part sector
in break with US |
The
Chinese government has announced plans to expand the domestic market for
electronic components to USD 327 billion by 2023, in its latest step to
bolster the nation's tech sector amid a growing rivalry with the U.S. The
announcement covers components, materials and manufacturing equipment used
in such areas as smartphones, drones, 5G wireless, connected factories,
electric vehicles, robotics, high-speed rail and aerospace. China aims to
increase the market for these components by 20% between 2019 and 2023
under an action plan that involves the development of 15 globally
competitive electronic components makers with 10 billion yuan or more in
annual sales. |
Nikkei Asia | 30 January 2021 |
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Vietnam courts chip investment to power up
digital economy |
Vietnam is moving to build a bigger digital economy, driven in part by
semiconductor manufacturing, during the next five years and beyond as the
Communist Party maps out a course that will take the country's economy to
2045. The digital economy’s contribution to gross domestic product is
targeted to about 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Making a shift to
high-quality and value-added products is to play a major role in achieving
the targets. Building a cluster of domestic chip industry is a potential
move for Vietnam to climb up the value chain. |
Nikkei Asia | 29 January 2021 |
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Vietnam's Vingroup to export electric SUVs
to US and Europe from 2022 |
Vingroup has unveiled a lineup of electric vehicles to gain a foothold in
the American and European car markets. Vingroup subsidiary VinFast will
produce three sport utility vehicle models that use artificial
intelligence to run autopilot features such as steering, parking
assistance and 3D mapping. Vingroup said it will start taking orders for
the SUVs in November, with plans to deliver them to U.S., Canadian and
European drivers in June 2022. |
Nikkei Asia | 26 January 2021 |
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Asean electronics companies still lag China in
climbing global value chain |
Despite ongoing supply-chain shifts into Southeast Asia, the Asean
economies that have been key beneficiaries will still be hard-pressed to
compete with mainland China. The Asean Quad – Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam – has built a dominant presence in niche segments of
the electronics industry, such as office equipment in the Philippines,
computers and radio equipment in Thailand, and telecom equipment in
Vietnam. However, while these countries have a lot to offer, China retains
a competitive edge and has achieved economies of scale across multiple
electronics goods segments. |
The Business Times | 13
January 2021 |