Bosch expands activities in Southeast Asia

“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 und Vietnam. Additionally, a new plant in Thailand is planned. In the past ten years, Bosch has invested almost EUR 500 million 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 EUR 780 million. 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, urbanization, 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.