TAOYUAN CITY, TAIWAN – The Taiwanese PCB industry is increasingly investing in Southeast Asian countries – particularly Thailand – as customers look to secure their manufacturing bases against global uncertainties and move out of mainland China, according to the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association.

Currently, Taiwanese PCB manufacturers have more than 60% of their capacities in Mainland China and 37% in Taiwan, and for many years, Taiwanese companies have not valued the Southeast Asian countries because of their planning and management in Taiwan and mainland China. Since last year, however, international political instability and end customers’ concern about supply chain disruption have driven a worldwide trend to relocate the supply chain.

Thailand is the country with the highest PCB output among Southeast Asian countries, and its friendly people and open business environment with a high level of internationalization have made it become the best choice for Taiwanese companies to base its production factories at this time, TPCA said.

In the last two years, Taiwanese PCB companies such as Unimicron, COMPEQ, Wus Printed Circuit, Dynamic Electronics and Complex Micro Interconnections, along with suppliers of raw materials, such as Taiflex, TUC and ITEQ Corporation, have established their factories in and around Bangkok. Several Chinese counterparts have also relocated their factories to Southeast Asia, including Aoshikang Technology, Chian Eagle Electronic Technology, JOVE PCB and FSQuality.

TPCA has organized two investment tours to Thailand, one investment tour to Vietnam and one to Malaysia, and on July 21, it will hold the Thailand PCB Industry Link Summit where the Thai government, Thai and Taiwanese PCB companies, and industry park representatives will be invited. This communication platform is meant to help those who want to invest in Thailand, and TPCA will work with the Thailand Printed Circuit Association to discuss the major issues relevant to how the PCB industry chain moves to Thailand.