Predictions for the Manufacturing Industry in 2022 by OpenText, IFS, & Themanufacturer

Manufacturing predictions for 2022 from OpenText, IFS, & Themanufacturer.

Establishing a Representative Office in Malaysia & Indonesia

1. In Indonesia, Opening a representative office (RO) is the fastest and simplest way of establishing a legal entity in the country. This setup is a temporary arrangement – ROs are not allowed to engage in any commercial activities, issue invoices, sign contracts, or earn any revenue. Foreign investors, however, can own 100 percent of this business entity and don’t have to contribute the same paid-up capital required by PT PMAs.

2. Establishing a representative office (RO) in Malaysia is often the fastest and most cost-effective way to have a legal entity and study the local market before determining viable opportunities. However, the RO is prohibited from earning any revenue and is limited to mainly market research, information gathering, and developing trade contacts in Malaysia.

Malaysia is top country in emerging Southeast Asia for foreign investment: Milken Institute

1. Malaysia ranks No. 1 in emerging Southeast Asia as the country with the most potential to attract foreign investors, according to the 2022 Milken Institute Global Opportunity Index. This annual assessment, created to help inform investor and policymaker global investment decisions, evaluates an economy’s investment landscape using variables such as macroeconomic outlook, access to financial services, the potential for future innovation and development, and more.

2. The 2022 Global Opportunity Index includes a report focusing on emerging Southeast Asia, a region where an influx of capital could lead to increased innovation, job creation, and competitiveness.

Boosting European Rail Freight - Part 1 - Transformation Required, Steady Decline in Western Europe

1. Europe’s big aspiration to reverse the decline of its rail freight industry will require significant effort, with substantial investment and smart thinking. Governments and industry players can help to achieve this goal, as there are examples of success to draw on and some key levers to pull.

2. The European freight rail industry has seen a steady decline over the past 70 years. Freight rail’s modal share has decreased from around 60 percent in the 1950s, and 30 percent in the 1980s, to roughly 15 percent today, driven mainly by large industry shifts.

3. This prompted a vicious circle of increasing fixed costs, leading to loss of competitiveness and loss of volume, and consequently increasing fixed costs again—with little hope for a thriving future. The rise of new small and agile entrants worsened the situation for freight rail incumbents that were left with unhealthy structures and often faced political pressure to maintain unprofitable businesses.

4. The European Union has set a bold ambition to reverse this trend. It plans to double freight rail’s modal share by 2030, both to reduce the transport sector’s CO2 emissions and to ease the congestion of major road connections.2 Achieving this ambition would see freight rail volumes grow by around six percent a year in ton-kilometers (tkm).

5. A massive shift in trajectory would be required to achieve this ambition. A European strategy to transfer a large proportion of transport from road to rail could focus on several key elements, including major long-distance freight flows, key connection points such as ports, and new industries that can replace volumes lost in declining sectors. Regulators and operators could also play a role in rethinking the regulatory model and reorienting the industry to become more customer focused, and more profitable.