The Knowledge to Decide

O n 15 March, Spire and Yamada Consulting Group (YCG) jointly organized a breakfast seminar in Singapore for Japanese speakers, to share insights on Mergers & Acquisition (M&A) deals in Vietnam and investment trends for market entry. An English language seminar on the same theme was held the next day. The speakers were Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, Eiji Asano, incoming Director for YCG Vietnam and Hafidz Omar, Senior Manager at Spire Research and Consulting. The speakers discussed the impact of growing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as well as the keen interest in Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) in Vietnam. Vietnam’s economy racked up a USD15 billion positive trade balance from 2015 with manufacturing, metals and textiles as the top export industries. Most of Vietnam’s FDI came from Asian countries like the Republic of Korea, China and Singapore. The speakers discussed pull factors for investors, like competitive

In what some have dubbed the Third Industrial Revolution, 3D printing is now allowing consumers to be masters of their own manufactured durable goods. But Asian countries will need to work a lot harder to avoid becoming laggards in this transformative new field. What is 3D printing? 3D printing refers to the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model using powder, molten plastic or metals. It first slices a 3D computer model into layers, then builds the object one layer at a time using the 3D printer. The quality of the end-product is dependent on various factors, such as the base material, thinness of the layers, mechanics of the printer as well as the amount of preparation taken into consideration for the 3D computer model. Also known as additive manufacturing, 3D printing seeks to distinguish itself from “subtractive manufacturing”. The latter involves the cutting down and pairing-off materials to attach them together

Studies show that every year, US bus and railway fleets are upgraded by spending close to USD5.4 billion. Much of the vehicle and carriage assembly takes place in cost-effective regions of Asia. To prevent this, the Obama administration has enforced Buy America – a federal law that ensures transportation projects utilize 60 percent of products manufactured in the U.S. Some see this as a protectionist move, though others point to the fact that many governments around the world find ways to give work to large local firms so as to create domestic jobs. It is also the case that some manufacturing is shifting back to the US in any case, as a function of trends like rising costs in China and 3D printing. Nevertheless, will the US move herald a rise in protectionist measures globally? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/will-the-new-year-see-a-rise-in-protectionism/

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) aims for regional economic integration this year. What implications will it have on the burgeoning ASEAN business environment? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in the Asian version of Japan’s Nikkei newspaper. As the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) countries liberalize trade in line with AEC goals, the ASEAN economic landscape is changing. Many of the goals of the AEC in terms of liberalizing trade in goods have already been realized ahead of the 2015 deadline. This has helped to build up a positive momentum for the AEC project. This will also stimulate some restructuring of manufacturing activities in the region going forward. However the progress towards AEC goals in terms of freeing up human resources and services is lagging. It will take some years after 2015 before these are realized, due to the greater sensitivity of changes in these spheres. However, Perera ca

ASEAN is now poised to be the hotspot for global automotive manufacturing. The increasing number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) operating in ASEAN has played a pivotal role in driving demand in the automotive industry. Against that backdrop, the South East Asia Automotive Summit 2014 gathered key industry stakeholders, such as global car OEMs, government bodies, associations, as well as manufacturing solutions providers and consultants, to discuss the market outlook and potential business opportunities. Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, was amongst the speakers at the 3rd Annual South-East Asia Automotive Summit held in Jakarta. In his presentation, Bahar emphasized the importance of implementing a localized market strategy to penetrate the market. He identified key internal and external factors that would influence automotive localization in the ASEAN region. He shared that there are abundant business opportunities i

Japan and China are emerging as the leading Asian countries for 3D printing adoption, thanks to government initiatives and rapid growth in industrial demand. Can these countries outstrip the West in integrating 3D printing into supply chains? In an article inspired by the  SpirE-Journal , Spire shared its views on the challenges and opportunities in Asia’s 3D printing industry. In comparison to the 3D printing market in Europe and the US, Asia’s growth is sluggish. However, the Asia-Pacific region – especially Japan and China- is now 3D printing-ready, thanks to its extensive industrial base, government funding and a supportive research and development (R&D) eco-system. The Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry (METI) has set aside USD44 million in the 2014 budget to support R&D initiatives for metal products manufacture through 3D printing. This demonstrates its seriousness in promoting Japanese leadership in 3D printing. On the other hand, China’s Ministry