The Changing Face Of FDI

1. As recent history has consistently demonstrated, there is nothing more certain than uncertainty. A pandemic, geopolitical tensions, trade frictions and even armed conflict have complicated the landscape for global foreign direct investment, leaving business leaders with no clear signals as they set priorities and make critical investment decisions outside their borders.

2. Adding urgency to the matter, there are now signs of a revival in FDI after a couple of years of decline. But the picture that is beginning to sort itself out is distinctly different from the past. Manufacturing shows promising signs of recovery while nearshoring and friendshoring in new markets are becoming stronger trends.

3. At an estimated $1.37 trillion, global FDI flows grew by a modest 3% year-on-year in 2023, according to preliminary figures from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). But the top-line numbers obfuscate an enormously mixed picture beneath the surface.

4. Most strikingly, once a few European conduit economies are removed from the equation, global flows declined by some 18%. In the European Union, for instance, FDI jumped from negative $150 billion in 2022 to positive $141 billion in 2023, according to UNCTAD, but largely on the back of significant swings in Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Excluding these two countries, inflows to the rest of the EU fell 23%. North America saw zero growth, while other countries saw declines. Flows fell by 9% in developing countries to $841 billion.

Malaysia's industrial output up 5pct in June

1. Industrial output rose 5.0% compared to the same month of the previous year in June, which followed May’s 2.4% increase. The notable pickup was partly driven by faster growth in manufacturing output. In addition, mining and quarrying output rebounded.

2. As a result, the trend improved sizably, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at 2.0%, up from May’s 1.4% reading.

3. On a monthly basis, industrial output increased 0.7% in seasonally adjusted terms in June, which was below May’s 1.7% expansion.

Unveiling the SEA Green Economy Index: Tracking Decarbonization Progress in Southeast Asia

1. To better help Southeast Asian markets track their decarbonization progress, the report unveiled the region’s first SEA Green Economy Index which examines how each country is progressing across five metrics with varying weightage totaling 100% – ambition (20%), progress (25%), roadmap (20%), accelerator (25%), and investment (10%).

2. “The index helps provide an objective snapshot of how each country is performing year-on-year and relative to peers. It shows an overview of areas they are doing well and recognizes where progress is being made. It is important to note that this index is constantly evolving as the region continues to tweak initiatives to fit respective markets’ needs,” said Hardcastle.

3. The index shows that Southeast Asia has made some encouraging moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with Singapore and Vietnam making the most progress over the last year. Eight out of 10 countries have net zero targets, and while they have remained the same as the previous year, more than half of the region’s top emitting corporates have set net zero or emission reduction targets, 15 more compared to 2023. In addition, seven countries have shown progress in adopting renewable energy and electric vehicles, preserving forestland, and enhancing health of cropland soil.

4. Translating ambition to action and results will take time. Southeast Asia is still in early adoption and has the opportunity to capture proven and the most cost effective decarbonization initiatives. In 2024, the region needs to double down on the top 13 investable ideas, leverage on the key accelerators to unlock these ideas and ensure better cooperation among governments, corporates, and investors.

"Optimizing Universal Access and Service (UAS) Projects: Strategic Disbursement, Grant Management, and Effective Monitoring"

1. Effective disbursement strategies are crucial for the success of Universal Access and Service (UAS) projects, ensuring that funds are allocated efficiently to bridge connectivity gaps. 

2. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) outlines various methods for making and managing disbursements & monitoring in UAS initiatives.

China’s shrinking FDI and what it means for its economy

1. FDI into China in 2023 increased by the lowest amount since the early 1990s amid growing disinvestment and concerns about the country’s sluggish economic recovery.

2. According to data released by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Sunday, China’s direct investment liabilities – including foreign companies’ retained earnings in the country – reached $33bn (237.53bn yuan) in 2023. The measure is 82% lower than the 2022 level and the lowest recorded since 1993, one year after private business ownership gained full legal status in the country.

3. In November 2023, Chinese officials reported a $11.8bn drop in direct investment liabilities during the third quarter of 2023, showing how growing tensions between Beijing and the West impact the country’s investment climate.

4. Despite the swift economic recovery following Covid, FDI inflows into China slowed in 2022 as a result of the government’s Zero Covid policy – in place until the end of that year – coupled with economic policy uncertainty.

5. At the same time, Beijing has stepped up its crackdown on foreign companies. In January 2024, Beijing launched an anti-dumping investigation into French brandy imports. The announcement came a few weeks after the EU Commission began investigating allegations of biodiesel dumping from China into the EU market and three months after Brussels said it was looking into claims that China was illegally subsidising its electric vehicle market.

6. The Chinese tech sector, however, has seen the most significant drop in market valuation, as continued pressure from the Chinese authorities wiped $1.1trn off China’s major tech companies between 2021 and 2023, according to Refinitiv data cited by Reuters.

7. The US Department of State warns that China’s market remains a “relatively restrictive environment for foreign investors” because of prohibitions on investment in key sectors, as well as unpredictable regulatory enforcement.

8. For that reason, many companies have diversified their investments away from China, instead announcing expansion plans in other Asian nations such as India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Singapore's Smart Nation 2.0: Advancing AI Leadership and Resilient Digital Infrastructure

1. Singapore has announced plans to inject around £740m (S$1.2bn) into AI development over the next five years,

2. In 2023, Silicon Box, a semiconductor integration company, announced the launch of its $2bn semiconductor manufacturing foundry in Singapore.

3. Located in Tampines, the chip factory is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs with the backing from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

4. Silicon Box’s facility marks a step forward for Singapore’s ambition to expand its manufacturing industry by 50% by 2030.

5. It is also expected to increase Singapore’s appeal as a desirable location for AI, as semiconductor businesses look to diversify their manufacturing supply chains amid rising geopolitical concerns.

6. Singapore was among the first countries to publish an AI plan in 2019. In December 2023 it launched an updated version of the strategy, outlining ways to harness and use AI for economic empowerment.

7. The city-state took a proactive stance in AI governance by introducing AI Verify in May 2022 – the world’s first AI governance testing framework and software toolkit for companies.

8. Companies like Google, Meta, and Microsoft have already tested the AI Verify tool and provided feedback, demonstrating a collaborative effort towards promoting responsible AI use.

Malaysia's industrial output grows faster-than-expected in March, May 2024 official data shows

 1. Malaysia’s industrial output rose at a faster-than-expected pace in March from a year earlier with the manufacturing sector leading broad gains, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said.

2. The industrial production index — which measures output from factories, mines, and power plants — climbed 2.4% in March compared to the same month in 2023. That was better than the median 1.9% increase predicted in a Bloomberg survey but slower than February’s 3.1% year-on-year growth.

3. On a month-on-month basis, the index rebounded 7.5% in March from February’s decline of 6.3%.

4. The latest reading dovetails with modest improvement in factory output in major exporters China, South Korea, Vietnam and Taiwan over the same month. However, industrial production fell in Singapore while that of the US, Japan, and Thailand declined further in March.

Turkey's FDI Resilience: Strategies to Double Global Share by 2028

 https://www.investmentmonitor.ai/news/tur1. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Turkey have reached $10bn in 2023, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT).

2. The figures released by the CBRT suggest FDI continues to pour into the country despite economic instability and a devastating earthquake that hit the southeast region of Turkey in February last year.

3. The Investment Office President A Burak Dağlıoğlu commented on the state of global investment in 2023: “Central bank policies and the current geopolitical situation have led to a decrease in global investment. We observed declines in global FDI ranging from 20% to 80% in many emerging economies, including Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) and BRICS countries. Despite challenging global conditions, exceeding $10bn in FDI volume is significant. 

4. The positive signals at the beginning of 2024 indicate a promising outlook for the Turkish economy, with increased investor interest. We expect a surge in investments in 2024, indicating a positive trajectory for the months ahead.”

The MQTT Protocol: An Introduction for IoT Beginners

1. Automated factories, smart home systems, self-driving cars: Different as they may seem, all these technologies have something in common. They rely on devices that communicate with each other. In other words, they share data.

2. For that data to do anything—whether that’s executing an order on a smart CNC machine or tracking a shipping container—your devices must send and receive messages according to the same rules.

3. These rules are codified by messaging protocols. During the early days of IoT, a lot of competing protocols were floating around. You might find IoT systems based on:

• DDS (Data Distributed Service)

• CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol) 

• AMQP (Advanced Message Queue Protocol) 

• QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) 

• And others

4. None of these technologies offered the ideal blend of features for IoT, which requires a protocol that excels at:

• Sending small amounts of data over unreliable networks;

• Operating with limited bandwidth and connectivity;

• Using a minimal overhead and small code footprint;

• Functioning well in devices with limited processing power, memory, and battery life.   

5. Luckily, such a protocol was developed in 1999. It’s called MQTT, and it’s become the de facto standard for IoT communication—both in consumer devices (wearables, smart home products, e-mobility, etc.) and industrial IoT, or IIoT (smart factories, asset tracking systems, smart utilities, and lots more). Why is MQTT becoming the dominant IoT messaging protocol? Is it the right technology for your IoT/IIoT deployment? And if so, what do you need to build an IoT system that uses MQTT?

3 common barriers to AI adoption and how to overcome them

 1. There’s a growing consensus about the need for businesses to embrace AI. McKinsey estimated that generative AI could add between $2.6 to $4.4 trillion in value annually, and Deloitte’s “State of AI in the Enterprise” report found that 94% of surveyed executives “agree that AI will transform their industry over the next five years.” The technology is here, it’s powerful, and innovators are finding new use cases for it every day. 

2. But despite its strategic importance, many companies are struggling to make progress on their AI agendas. Indeed, in that same report, Deloitte estimated that 74% of companies weren’t capturing sufficient value from their AI initiatives.

3. Nevertheless, companies sitting on the sidelines can’t afford to wait any longer. As reported by Bain & Company, a “larger wedge” is being driven “between those organizations that have a plan [for AI] and those that don’t—amplifying advantage and placing early adopters into stronger positions.”

4. So, what’s holding companies back from capturing AI’s value? While there are plenty of barriers to AI adoption, from our experience, three tend to be the most common causes for concern. Here’s what those barriers entail, and why leveraging automation as the ‘muscle’ that allows you to operationalize the ‘brain’ of AI is the most effective approach to realize value from the technology.

Georgia FDI drops by 24% in 2023; Foreign investors losing interest

1. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Georgia reached $1.59bn (La4.22bn) in 2023, dropping by 24% following a year in which the country recorded more than $2bn in inflows.

2. FDI in Georgia reached $1.59bn in 2023, data gathered by the National Statistics Office of Georgia shows.

3. The number is 24% lower than the previous year when the country recorded slightly more than $2bn in total inflows.

Thailand releases draft Top-up Tax Act to implement the global minimum tax rules under BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two

1. On 1 March 2024, the Thai Revenue Department released a draft legislation for an adoption of the Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules (GloBE rules) in Thailand, aligning with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) 2.0 Pillar Two project. The draft legislation was open for a public consultation from 1 March 2024 to 15 March 2024.

2. This draft legislation is a response to the Cabinet's resolution on 7 March 2023 to collect the Top-up Tax in Thailand for in-scope multinational enterprises (MNEs). The Cabinet assigned the Thai Revenue Department with drafting the associated regulations and guidelines. (For background, see EY Global Tax Alert, Thailand plans to implement global minimum tax rules under OECD BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two, 10 March 2023.)

Manufacturing Trends and Predictions in 2024

Below are manufacturing predictions and trends from Opentext, Oracle and, Advanced Technology Services (ATS) for 2024.

Future of SME Business: Smart Technology and Industry 4.0

1. It may seem at first that industry 4.0 is something that only benefits enterprises and large companies that have facilities scattered throughout geographic regions, dozens of departments, and generally large and complex operations. However, this is not the case.

2. Even tiny businesses can benefit from what industry 4.0 has to offer. By using the cloud to process and store information more efficiently or by using various other new technologies to improve the way they design, build and deliver their products and services, they boost their efficiency and become more relevant.

3. Just like with previous industrial revolutions, it may take some time before the benefits reach every corner of the business sphere. But even in the present moment, small businesses are experiencing the benefits of industry 4.0.

4. They can now compete with large enterprises in ways that would have never been thought possible a few decades ago.

Opportunities and Challenges of Global Minimum Tax Implementation

1. The emerging idea of global minimum tax is inseparable from the challenges faced by tax jurisdictions in the digital economy. In the era of digitalization, MNEs can conduct business activities anywhere and anytime without being limited by country barriers. Unfortunately, it is difficult for taxation authorities to prevent harmful tax avoidance through profit shifting on cross-border transactions. Thus, MNEs freely try to shift their profits in low-tariff countries. Therefore, in order to prevent profit shifting, the OECD published the BEPS Action Plan in 2013 which was later reduced to pillar two of the Global Anti Base Erosion (OECD, 2021).

2. In addition, one of the objectives of implementing a global minimum tax is to prevent tax incentive wars to attract investment. It must be recognized that fiscal incentives have a significant role in attracting FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). Various studies show that tax incentives in the form of tax holidays and tax allowances have a significant influence in attracting FDI in Indonesia. Sari et al (2015), for example, found that tax holidays have an impact on increasing investment activity in Indonesia. On the other hand, Pratiwi and Khoinurrofik (2023) argue that the effective tax rate has a significant impact on fixed asset investment. That is, the lower the effective tax rate, the higher the level of investment in fixed assets. However, unhealthy competition between jurisdictions in providing fiscal incentives makes MNEs easily shift their profits (race to the bottom).

Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar)'s Strategies

1. Significant investments in transport infrastructure projects, such as Hamad International Airport, Hamad Port and Doha Metro, form a crucial part of Qatar's strategy. The emphasis on human capital development through initiatives like Education City and strategic partnerships with international universities highlights the nation's commitment to nurturing talent. Additionally, regulatory reforms, including the liberalisation of foreign ownership laws and progressive visa policies, contribute to making Qatar an attractive destination for skilled professionals.

2. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are identified as a cornerstone of Qatar's economic diversification efforts, fostering a business ecosystem that prioritises productivity, competitiveness and private sector-led growth. The May 2020 PPP law is underscored as a significant milestone, providing investors with confidence and predictability. Diverse sectors, including education, health care, real estate, tourism and energy, present promising opportunities for collaboration.

3. Collaborations with global tech giants, such as Microsoft and Google, showcase the country's favourable investment climate and growth potential. Ongoing partnerships to develop innovation centres reinforce Qatar's dedication to advancing key sectors like energy, health care and transport.

Storing hydrogen from renewable energy and solving the problem through reticular chemistry

1. Few chemicals carry as much hope and aspiration as hydrogen. Over the last few years, the first element in the periodic table has gone from a global buzzword to one of the most promising routes to decarbonizing industry, power generation and transport.

2. As production of the gas using low-carbon resources ramps up around the globe, the vision of a green hydrogen-powered economy faces a number of challenges. Alongside scaling production and lowering costs, one of the biggest challenges is hydrogen storage.

WHY IS HYDROGEN ENERGY STORAGE VITAL?

1. Hydrogen has the potential to address two major challenges in the global drive to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. First, it can help tackle the perennial issue of the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. By converting excess power generated on windy or sunny days into hydrogen, the gas can store renewable energy that can then be dispatched at times of peak demand as a clean fuel source for power generation. Second, hydrogen can replace fossil fuels to decarbonize sectors where electrification alone won’t suffice, such as domestic heating, industry, shipping and aviation.

2. The hitch is that, while an excellent medium for renewable energy storage, hydrogen itself is hard to store.

3. This is because it has a low volumetric energy density compared to other gases — such as natural gas — meaning it takes up significantly more space. Also, hydrogen has a boiling point close to absolute zero and requires cryogenic storage. And while it does not typically corrode storage containers, it can cause cracks in metals under certain conditions.

4. Here are four hydrogen storage solutions that could help address these challenges, as mapped out by Hydrogen Europe.

3 Cybersecurity Issues Manufacturers Can Solve with AI

1. AI has led to some massive changes in many different industries. The manufacturing industry is among those most affected by the changes it has created.

2. Manufacturers are projected to spend $2.3 billion on AI technology this year. While this figure might not seem significant, it is growing at a rate of 47.9% a year through 2027.

3. One of the biggest reasons that the manufacturing sector is investing more heavily in AI is to take advantage of the cybersecurity benefits it offers.

4. Manufacturers are among the biggest targets of cybercriminals. In 2021, over 40% of manufacturers experienced a cyberattack. That figure is likely to increase in the coming years, so they must use all resources at their disposal to combat them.

5. Therefore, using AI-driven cybersecurity strategies will be more important than ever.

6. Technological advancements and innovation have helped manufacturing industries to grow exponentially in the past few years. Companies are no longer limited to using old and offline trends. They are now making significant shifts to online activities. Unfortunately, this has also led to increasing incidences of cyber-attacks.

7. Manufacturers should be aware of the different cybersecurity threats the industry faces today. They must also develop effective solutions to address these threats and minimize risks, which includes using AI to its full potential.

8. Here are three cyber security issues in manufacture you should know, which can be addressed with AI technology.

Encouraging Local Businesses to Embrace Technology

1. Encouraging local businesses to adopt your technology can be a challenging task. However, by understanding their pain points, offering personalized support, and highlighting the benefits of your solution, you can increase the chances of successful adoption. 

2. Start by identifying the specific challenges faced by local businesses in your industry and tailor your approach to address their unique needs. Provide personalized support through various channels, such as phone, email, or in-person meetings, to help them overcome any obstacles they may face. 

3. Additionally, emphasize the benefits of your technology, such as increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved customer relationships, to demonstrate its value to their business.

Thai manufacturing sector shrinks for 5th month amid ASEAN slowdown

1. The purchasing managers' Index (PMI) for the ASEAN region fell for the third straight month in December, dropping 0.3 points from November to 49.7.

2. The fall reflected a rapid decline in new orders, to the lowest level in 28 months. This led to a decrease in new export orders and weakened overall output, marking the slowest growth in the manufacturing sector in 27 months.