Multinational manufacturers to put up fewer factories here as ASEAN integration gains steam

Indonesia and Myanmar are the new production stars.

Multinational manufacturers will put up significantly fewer factories in Singapore as compared to neighboring countries as the ASEAN Economic Community gains steam, a report by The Economist Intelligence Unit revealed today.

The report, which was conducted on behalf of Baker & McKenzie, showed that manufacturers are gearing up for the AEC by deepening their production footprint in the region.

Responses from 75 multinationals with manufacturing operations in the region showed that manufacturing investment in the next five years will be focused in countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam. 

The number of factories in Indonesia is projected to grow by almost 70%, while the number of factories in Singapore is expected to increase by just a little over 11%.

Instead of factories, multinationals seem most keen to establish regional offices here, with 80% of firms saying that they are running their regional offices in Singapore.