Metagrobolize

Intel celebrates 35 years in Malaysia, reaffirms commitment to reinvest

Intel Malaysia, one of eight pioneer multinational companies to invest in Penang 35 years ago, has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to continue investing in the country.

Intel Malaysia’s newly-appointed Managing Director (Assembly and Test), Atul Bhargava, said Intel would continue to grow with Malaysia, as the company brings in more value added processes involving design and development, to enhance Intel’s competitiveness.

Bhargava was speaking at the company’s 35th anniversary celebrations at its locality in Bayan Lepas. Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who was present, gave away a token of appreciation to Intel Malaysia’s long-serving employees including some employees who stayed with the company from 1972.
With an initial workforce of 100, Intel Malaysia has grown over the years and today employs some 10,000 people.

The company’s continued expansions in the country, has also translated to a high capital investments today of over US$3 billion (RM10.44 billion) in the country.

Intel Malaysia’s commitment to continue investing in Malaysia was a strong indication of the company’s confidence in the country’s business environment, the Chief Minister said.

Second Generation Outsourcing

Picking up from Steve Hamms article “A new model for Outsourcers” in his Bangalore Tigers blog http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/bangaloretigers regarding the setting up of a new outsourcing model by a company called Antara Solutions.

Anantara Solutions is trying to revolutionize the Indian outsourcing industry by operating as a virtual outsourcing company–which taps partners with specific areas of expertise. If this model takes off, it could pose a serious challenge to the outsourcing status quo, not just in India but worldwide.

Anantara was started last year by G.B. Prabhat, who, beginning in 1995 had run Satyam Renaissance Consulting, a joint venture with India’s Satyam Computer.

They call their model Second Generation Outsourcing. Here’s how it works: Read the rest of this entry »

Not quite lost in translation Pt3

Here are some great examples of why India has grown so quickly to now stand at the top of the global call centre ladder…ermmmmmmmm hmmmm

Infosys, Bangalore: An employee applied for leave as follows: “Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife, please sanction me one-week leave.”

This is from Oracle Bangalore: >From an employee who was performing the “mundan” ceremony of his 10 year old son: “as I want to shave my son’s head, please leave me for two days..”

Another gem from O&M. Leave-letter from an employee who was performing his daughter’s wedding: “as I am marrying my daughter, please grant a week’s leave..”

From Accenture Administration Department: “As my mother-in-law has expired and I am only one responsible for it, please grant me 10 days leave.” Read the rest of this entry »

Another good year for Malaysia’s manufacturing sector

Both foreign and local investors continued to show interest to invest in Malaysia’s manufacturing sector with a record RM28.8 billion (US$8.23 billion) approved for the first six months of the year, surpassing the annual target of RM27.5 billion (US$7.86 billion) under the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3). Last year the country recorded RM46 billion (US$12.53 billion) approved investments in the manufacturing sector.

The continued interest reflects Malaysia’s cost-competitive environment for export-oriented manufacturing companies. The country’s political stability; open economy with a sound financial system; educated and skilled workforce generally conversant in English; excellent infrastructure continued to be valued by foreign investors.
The latest statistics released by the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) shows strong interests from foreign investors with a six month cumulative approvals of RM14.47 billion (US$4.13 billion). In 2006, foreign direct investments (FDIs) totaled RM20.23 billion (US$5.51 billion). Read the rest of this entry »

Best Source strategies

There are Best Source lessons to be learnt by even the largest of companies.

Taken from Electronicsweekly.com

Electronics firm scraps its Chinese manufacturing site

Universal Instruments (UI) has scrapped its manufacturing operation in Shenzhen, China, based upon persistent quality complaints from customers of its precision instruments. The company has since turned the facility into an assembly centre to serve its global market.

The move comes as US companies begin voicing concerns about Chinese manufacturing. Unlike Mattel, the giant toy maker that recently recalled products made in China, UI did not outsource its manufacturing. But even under its own banner, UI ran into problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Malaysia’s corporate governance improves

Malaysia’s corporate governance has shown great improvement and now complies with more than three-quarters of the IIF’s corporate governance guidelines, based on the latest Institute of International Finance (IIF) news report last week.

With the findings, Malaysia is now rated to be in the top quartile of emerging economies surveyed by the IIF in terms of corporate governance.

The IIF is the global association of financial services institutes with more than 360 members worldwide.

Maybank President and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Amirsham A. Aziz, a member of the IIIF Board of Directors said in a statement that the report recognized Malaysia’s progress and positive actions that have been implemented in recent years, and also singled out the scope of efforts required to further improve the best practices particularly in the capital market regulatory framework. Read the rest of this entry »

Unemployment…what unemployment?

Many thanks to Kevin Meyer of the Evolving Excellence Blog once again for highlighting what would seem to be an anomaly contrary to popular perceptions in the US.

Despite the increase in alarmist media and populist rhetoric from would-be presidential candidates, about the harm that Outsourcing is doing to blue collar America, with increasing millions of unemployed, the figures are actually near record lows.

Economists believe that the US is near the “full employment” level, where the 4.5% rate is reflective of normal ongoing churn, the perpetually unemployable, and those who simply don’t want to be employed.

An area supposedly hardest hit by the ongoing quantum shift in Manufacturing such as Wisconsin is no different; rates are still just a percent or so above the national average. This means there’s considerable competition for workers among the manufacturers that have figured out how to thrive in a supposedly adverse environment. Read the rest of this entry »

Back to Basics

I’ve voiced my opinion on this blog a couple of times now about the relative immaturity of China’s manufacturing industry, and I didn’t want to be seen to be ‘China Bashing’ however with the recent massive product recall of approx 18 MILLION toys by the worlds largest toy maker, Mattel, I’m compelled to revisit this subject.

We are getting almost daily reports now of Chinese products being recalled for health or quality reasons, and my take on the situation is this:

1. Due to the media attention that has been drawn to the recent ‘problems’ caused by Chinese imports, there is a ‘heightened’ state of alert with consumers closely examining where their purchases were made, resulting in outsourcing companies increasing their QA/QC procedures aware of the catastrophic consequences should ‘their’ products be found to be faulty at best, and hazardous at worst. Read the rest of this entry »

Malaysia Electrical and Electronics sector attracts RM16.6billion in investments (USD$4.88 Billion)

Malaysia continues to draw substantial investments into the electrical and electronics sector, approving some RM16.6 billion (USD$4.88 Billion) in the last 12 months with foreign direct investments (FDI) contributing 91.6 % of the total, the Malaysia Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said, at the opening of the KL International AV Sho qw 2007 in Kuala Lumpur.

Some 41,023 employment opportunities were also created through these investments.

Approval statistics for the period June 2006 to June 2007 in the consumer electronics sub sector, show a marked trend for companies in this sector to move into higher value-added products such as digital audio video equipment, multimedia speakers, set top boxes and Thin Film Transistor/Plasma TV sets, and home theater systems instead of products like video cassette recorders, television and speaker boxes. Read the rest of this entry »

Cowboys and Indians

American media sources cry FOUL as Indian firms begin increasing IT employment in the US.
Just as the US media machine started getting up a head of steam against those pesky highly skilled and highly educated Indians who are working for a bowl of rice per week and stealing all of the American IT workers jobs, they go and start employing Americans IT workers…in America.

The New Jersey based infrastructure firm Infocrossing has been purchased by Wipro for $600m. Wipro is one of the ‘big three’ technology firms in India employing some 72,000 engineers. Infocrossing manages technical infrastructure and has five data centres in the US, providing services to such esteemed clients as the Reader’s Digest group, so you can’t get any more Americana than that. Read the rest of this entry »