With a population of more than 600 million, Southeast Asia offers the Bosch Group excellent business opportunities. The leading global provider of technology and services is present in all ten ASEAN member countries and is continuously expanding its activities. ”Southeast Asia is an important region for the Bosch Group”, said Peter Tyroller, the member of the Bosch board of management responsible for Asia Pacific. “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, Bosch opened new offices in the Philippines and Indonesia with the aim of being closer to its customers. The company is also strengthening its manufacturing capacity in the region and plans to expand its Mobility Solutions plants in Malaysia and 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.
Southeast Asia offers Bosch a broad range of opportunities
In 2015, Bosch achieved sales growth of 12 percent 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. In the first half of the year, business in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam developed well. There are many factors in the region that bring forth opportunities for Bosch: these include its 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.
Strong local presence
Bosch has been present in Southeast Asia since 1919. 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 manufactured locally for more than 20 years and currently has seven plants in the region. In Malaysia, for example, Bosch manufactures power tools, products for the Car Multimedia division, and steering systems. The Bosch plant in Vietnam produces variable transmissions belts for automatic drive systems. In Thailand, Bosch manufactures washing machines, wipers, and gasoline systems. Southeast Asia is also becoming increasingly important for the Bosch Group’s global R&D network. The company has had development activities in Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia for several years already. Since 2010, Bosch has operated its first software development centre in Southeast Asia in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Among other things, engineers at the centre work on software solutions for the Internet of Things. This makes Bosch an increasingly important software employer in the region. In Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, the company has implemented the German concept of dual education.