Bosch Continues Strong Growth In Malaysia, Records €133 Mln Sales

KUALA LUMPUR, July 26 (Bernama) -- Bosch Group, a leading global supplier of technology and services, recorded sales of RM610 million (€133 million) in fiscal 2016 in Malaysia, making the country the second largest contributor to the group in Southeast Asia for the second consecutive year. The company’s headcount last year grew by four per cent to 2,700 associates. Bosch Malaysia Managing Director, Simon Song, said Bosch Group invested about €138 million in Malaysia in the past five years and over RM160 million (€35 million) in 2016 alone. This, he said was to further strengthen Malaysia as a location for global manufacturing, as well as for research and development (R&D). The company also directed investments into growing the engineering team of its car multimedia division, and enhance its manufacturing operations for surface mount technology (SMT). The new SMT facility in Penang, launched last year, aimed to increase production to support rising market demand, as well as facilitate more R&D projects. The expansion will enable Bosch to supply a broader array of services for customers locally, regionally and globally, he said. “There are good opportunities for future business as the progressive growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) industry means momentous change and huge new potential for businesses. “Bosch is now making our products web-enabled and provide our customers transformative solutions that help make a difference in enhancing their business competitiveness. This will be key to Bosch’s further growth here,” he said in a statement Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Bosch Group aspires to achieve sales growth of between three and five per cent this year, amid subdued economic outlook and geopolitical uncertainty. Chairman, Board of Management, Robert Bosch GmbH, Dr Volkmar Denner said with the group’s heavy upfront investments in safeguarding the company’s future, results were set to rise in the future. “As an innovation leader, we are shaping and driving transformation. The focal points of this transformation are changes in the mobility sphere and IoT connectivity,” he said. By 2020, all Bosch’s new electronic products will feature connectivity with the key being artificial intelligence (AI). “Bosch will be investing some €300 million for AI over the next five years,” said Denner. In 2016, Bosch Group recorded a hefty 8.3 per cent increase in sales to €20.8 billion in Asia Pacific. It now generates 28 per cent of its total sales revenue in Asia Pacific compared to 27 per cent in the previous year. -- BERNAMA