Southeast Asia will benefit from the China-US trade spat and people in the region should prepare through education, says Epson, the Japanese printing solutions maker.
The ban on Huawei in the US did not negatively affect Epson, and it will benefit the region if more manufacturers move here to avoid trade tariffs, said Siew Jin Kiat, senior regional director of sales and marketing for Epson Singapore.
Japanese companies concerned with intellectual property, including a lot of high-end and critical products, are still manufactured in Japan to protect them from technology transfer, said Mr Kiat.
"Even before the China-US issue, Japanese manufacturers started to shift their production to Southeast Asia as a second base because the cost of labour in China increased a lot, even though productivity is quite high," he said. A lot of multinational companies also made the move to the region because of labour costs, said Mr Kiat.
He said this move will lead to more job creation and spending power in Southeast Asia.
Mr Kiat suggested Asians should get ready for the shift via education, urging the Thai government to spend more on education.
In Thailand, the overall printer and projector market shrank by 1-2% last year, but Epson's new robotics business grew, said Yunyong Muneemongkoltorn, director of Epson Thailand.
Epson Thailand expects revenue to grow by 4% in fiscal 2018, and 5% in 2019, he said.
The demand for inkjet printers and projectors continues to grow and to boost production capacity for ink-tank models, multi-function printers and projectors, Epson will look to beef up its workforce and resources in Thailand this year.
Ng Ngee Khiang, regional director of visual products and the robotics solutions division of Epson Singapore, said a lot of manufacturers in this region are still manual, translating to huge potential for robotic adoption.
In Thailand, Epson sees high opportunity for its industrial robotics in the automotive and manufacturing sectors, he said.
Epson has been shifting its printing business from the consumer market to the business and commercial sector.
In Thailand Epson plans to double its local manufacturing capacity this year. Epson Precision Thailand produces quartz devices such as crystal oscillators, real-time clocks, crystal units, sensor timing modules, and products for car electronics. Its factory, established in 1988, has 1,400 employees. Epson is also constructing a new local production facility.
On Tuesday the Epson Regional Laser Projection Showcase 2019 highlighted the creative ways projectors can be deployed to enhance collaboration and improve productivity at work as well as offer play experiences.