Bosch to invest 80m euros in Southeast Asia this year
Bosch Group, a leading supplier of technology and services, today affirms the commitment to invest 80 million euros in Southeast Asia this year, on top of some 500 million having been invested in the past 10 years.
Announcing the investment, Peter Tyroller, the member of the Bosch board of management responsible for Asia Pacific, said: "Southeast Asia is an important region for the Bosch Group. To support growth in the region, we are planning to invest around 80 million euros in Southeast Asia this year.”
In the first half of 2016, opened new offices in the Philippines and Indonesia. The company is also strengthening its manufacturing capacity in the region and plans to expand its Mobility Solutions plants in Malaysia und Vietnam. Additionally, a new plant in Thailand is planned. In the past ten years, Bosch has invested almost 500 million euros in the expansion of its manufacturing and development locations in Southeast Asia.
With presence in all ten Asean member countries, Bosch sees a broad range of opportunities from Southeast Asia. This is supported by large and young population, the growing purchasing power of the middle class, increasing demand for infrastructure, urbanisation, and the need to conserve natural resources. The company also sees potential in the area of connectivity and the Internet of Things (IoT) in Southeast Asia.
In 2015, it achieved sales growth of 12 per cent in Southeast Asia, generating sales of more than 780 million euros. The company also expects positive development in the current year, despite partially volatile economic development in some of the Asean markets.
Today, the company employs more than 6,800 associates in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. In the coming years, the workforce is expected to keep growing.
The company has seven plants in the region. In Malaysia, Bosch manufactures power tools, products for the Car Multimedia division, and steering systems. In Vietnam, the plant produces variable transmissions belts for automatic drive systems. In Thailand, Bosch manufactures washing machines, wipers, and gasoline systems.
To Tyroller, Southeast Asia is also becoming increasingly important for the group's global R&D network. The company has had development activities in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia for several years. The first software development centre in the region was opened in Vietnam in 2010, working on software solutions for the Internet of Things. In Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, the company has implemented the German concept of dual education.
