Malaysia 2Q2022 Vistage-MIER CEO Confidence Index

1. The CEO Confidence Survey is a monthly survey of 100 chief executive officers (CEOs) from a variety of industries in the U.S. economy. The survey is conducted, analyzed, and reported by the Conference Board and it seeks to gauge the economic outlook of CEOs, determining their concerns for their businesses, and their view on where the economy is headed.

2. A reading of the survey index with a value above 50 indicates that the CEOs surveyed are more bullish than bearish on their economic outlook. The Conference Board's CEO Confidence Survey is seen as a leading economic indicator and it competes with Chief Executive magazine's CEO Confidence Index.

IoT Is Changing the Semiconductor Industry; and How Big Data is Applied in Major Industries

1. The IoT semiconductor industry is in continually high demand, especially as people look for increasingly advanced and feature-filled connected devices. However, the specific reasons for the chip’s rise are more complex than some might think. Here’s a closer look at some of them.

2. On the other hand, there are some major big data applications where it has become a game-changer for increasing efficiency, enhancing customer service, reducing costs, making better products, and much more:

Key Trends in Food Processing & Strategies for Food Tech Companies

1. The impact of COVID-19  on the food supply cannot be overstated. The virus is widely believed to have originated in the food supply in China in 2019. It’s therefore not surprising that the resulting global pandemic has changed the food production industry forever.  

2. With on-going quarantines, lockdowns, restaurant closures and work-from-home, consumers had more time to research how their food is being produced and where it is coming from. From the place of origin of food products, to ingredients, to packaging and food safety, American consumers have drastically altered their perception of what a desirable, safe, and delicious food product is. 

3. There are six key trends that U.S. food producers are reacting to. 

4. BCI Global has defined four strategic directions for innovative food tech companies with clear international ambitions to establish the right manufacturing and supply chain footprint for the future. They are as follows:
• Differentiating between short-term capacity development and longer-term strategy
• Creating the right ecosystem
• Selecting the optimal location for new operations
• Footprint risk management.

Can FDI fix the semiconductor supply chain?

1. Global semiconductor supply chains dramatically broke down during the Covid-19 pandemic, and everyone agrees this must never happen again. Could FDI fix this problem?

2. While China and the US represent the two largest buy-side markets for semiconductors, they only rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in the manufacturing of chips, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

3. The next decade will see both countries prioritising their onshore manufacturing capacity to enable economic growth and avoid the severe global chip shortage seen in 2021 after the Covid-19 crisis. On 28 July 2022, US Congress passed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act, colloquially known as the Chips Act, which includes $52bn of incentives designed to onshore semiconductor manufacturing capacity. 

4. Although the passing into law of this congressional act is momentous for the future of the global semiconductor industry, it is just one moving part in a global reshuffle in which foreign direct investment (FDI) will play a critical role.