Japan's Rapidus is widening its semiconductor push with help from four Malaysian IC design firms, a move that could strengthen chip-development support for customers worldwide. The partnership underlines how Malaysia is emerging as a key design hub, linking Japanese ambitions with global supply-chain and AI-chip demand.

Severe floods triggered by days of extreme rain in Thailand have paralyzed transport in Bangkok and several other areas, disrupting local auto and components supply chains and drawing attention to damage at Taiwanese companies with factories in the country. The flooding has also slowed shipments from Taiwan PCB makers in Thailand as road and airport transport remain affected.

Rumors that TSMC is weighing a new semiconductor investment in Singapore have reignited concerns over its overseas expansion, while the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on October 2, 2026, that the government will help the chipmaker expand investment in Taiwan.

Following its return to independent operations, AI startup Manus unveiled two new products in late September 2026: Manus 2.0 and "Cue," a personal agentic AI application. The product rollouts mark the company's first major strategic moves after its planned acquisition by Meta fell through.

Toshiba plans to double production capacity for hard disk drives (HDDs) used in AI data centers by fiscal 2027, investing about JPY60 billion (US$379.4 million) to expand its Philippine operations, according to Nikkei Asia. The expansion will mark Toshiba's first major HDD investment in roughly five years and is intended to strengthen supplies as AI workloads drive demand for high-capacity storage.

Infineon Technologies officially inaugurated a new backend manufacturing site in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok, on October 1, expanding the German chipmaker's production network in Southeast Asia starting with an initial investment of over EUR100 million (US$113.1 million).

Singapore has launched the SG Semiconductor brand to strengthen its semiconductor profile and attract talent, aiming to create a globally recognizable industry identity beyond its existing R&D system. Yee-Chia Yeo, A*STAR vice president for innovation and enterprise, said the initiative is not just a website or information platform, but a way to connect Singapore's wafer manufacturing, equipment, materials, research institutes, and universities into a more visible ecosystem.

Yee-Chia Yeo, vice president for innovation and enterprise at A*STAR, returned to Singapore in 2022 and has since turned years of industry experience into a strategy for advancing the city-state's semiconductor R&D and industry development. He is helping build a semiconductor model that differs from Taiwan's, with a focus on linking research more closely to manufacturing needs.

ASE Technology Holding's Singapore unit has approved the purchase of a factory in Yishun Industrial Park from Dutch LED maker Lumileds Singapore for about US$68.44 million, or about NT$2.152 billion. The site is intended to support future capacity expansion.

VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (VSMC), the joint venture between Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) and NXP Semiconductors, opened its 12-inch wafer fab in Tampines, Singapore, on September 28.

Advanced Substrate Technologies (AST), a joint venture between Japan's Toppan Holdings and Broadcom, officially opened a manufacturing facility in Singapore on September 29, 2026, the first in the country capable of producing high-end flip chip ball grid array (FC-BGA) substrates. The approximately 95,000-square-meter plant in the Jurong Lake District is the Toppan Group's first such facility outside Japan and is targeting the start of high-value manufacturing by late 2026, the companies said.

GlobalFoundries (GF) is expanding its Singapore footprint following its acquisition of local silicon photonics foundry Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF), integrating 200mm and 300mm silicon photonics technologies while transferring its existing US 300mm capabilities to Singapore.

Vietnamese electric scooter brand Dat Bike has launched its family-oriented ERA model with a starting price of VND29.9 million (US$1,151.22), pairing it with a self-developed "integrated charger" that builds the charger directly into the vehicle's power system. The launch comes as Vietnam's electric two-wheeler market accelerates and Dat Bike sets its sights on market leader VinFast.

Meta reached several agreements to source AI compute capacity from Firmus, an Australian neocloud, which will lease GPU compute capacity at its AI factories in Southeast Asia. The deal is said to support Meta's AI expansion across the Asia-Pacific region, while Firmus notches another order from a major customer in the run-up to a potential public listing.