Electronics SMEs urged to embrace South-east Asia as their growth driver

[SINGAPORE] WILL big global firms want to set up shop - as DBS senior economist Irvin Seah put it - "in a place that looks more like an old folks' home"?

As cost competition and demographic change put the squeeze on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), companies in electronics manufacturing should look to the regional value chain as a growth driver, he said at an industry event on Wednesday.

But to live long and prosper, they must tap both Southeast Asia's value and "Industry 4.0" technology tools.