Hyundai Motor Group is to invest S$400 million (US$294 million) in a new innovation center in Singapore that Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said might produce up to 30,000 vehicles a year by 2025.
“Automotive activities are becoming viable in Singapore once again,” Lee said in a speech yesterday to mark the virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the center in the city-state’s west.
Electric vehicles (EVs) “have a different supply chain, fewer mechanical parts and more electronics, which plays to Singapore’s strengths,” he said.
Photo: Reuters
The seven-story building, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2022, is where Hyundai would work on developing artificial intelligence (AI), big data and other technologies to enhance its manufacturing processes, fine-tuning the “brains” behind the smarter and more environmentally friendly vehicles of tomorrow.
The center would also have a 620m driving track near its roof so that customers can test drive vehicles.
Hyundai would “instill human-centered values” in all stages of a vehicle’s life, from ordering and production to the test drive and service, Hyundai Motor executive vice chairman Euisun Chung said at the event.
The company is separately developing flying cars, planning a full lineup of aerial vehicles that it envisages zigzagging city skies within a decade.
The innovation center would also house a small-scale electric-vehicle production facility to test processes using AI and autonomous driving.
One of the company’s EVs, the Kona, has been recalled in South Korea following multiple reports of battery fires.
“We hope this will open up new growth areas for our economy, and create exciting jobs for Singaporeans, for example industrial Internet of Things engineers, data scientists, cobot technicians and digital supply chain strategists,” Lee said.
Lee also said the center marked “an important milestone in the economic relationship between Singapore and South Korea,” paving the way for more South Korean firms to invest in the city-state and partner with local suppliers.
Singapore has not had an auto manufacturing plant since Ford Motor Co closed its factory several decades ago, effectively ending automobile production on the island.
In October last year, vacuum cleaner maker Dyson Ltd abandoned a US$2.5 billion plan to build electric vehicles in the city-state because it could not find a way of making the project commercially viable.
Tesla Inc, the world’s biggest maker of EVs, has plans to export China-built Model 3 cars to Singapore, and other places in Asia and Europe from its factory in Shanghai, people familiar with the matter said last month.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and
PORTFOLIO REBALANCING: The adjustments in three global equity indices reflect rising investor appetite for semiconductor and artificial intelligence-related stocks Taiwan’s weighting in major global equity indices compiled by MSCI Inc is to rise modestly following the latest quarterly review, underscoring the market’s expanding role in emerging-market portfolios, as global investors continue to favor the nation’s technology sector. Taiwan’s weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index is to increase by 0.30 percentage points to 23.76 percent, after the changes take effect at the close of the May 29 session. Its weighting in the MSCI All-Country Asia ex-Japan Index is to rise 0.37 percentage points to 27.16 percent, while that in the MSCI All Country World Index is to edge up slightly to
NEW MARKET: The partnership opens up India to the Dutch company, which already has a strong hold in the semiconductor market of South Korea, Taiwan and China ASML Holding NV entered into a partnership agreement with Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd aimed at ramping up India’s goal to develop domestic chip-manufacturing capabilities. The Dutch company’s technology would help power Tata Electronics’ planned 300 millimeter (mm) semiconductor foundry in Gujarat, according to a joint statement from the two companies on Saturday. The signing of a memorandum of understanding coincides with a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Netherlands, which is looking to deepen bilateral relations with New Delhi. ASML, whose top customers include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co, makes lithography machines that can print
The Hsinchu County Government’s Labor Affairs Department yesterday said that it has received a plan from cosmetics brand Taiwan Shiseido Co (台灣資生堂) detailing mass layoffs at its plant in Hukou Township (湖口). While the labor authorities did not disclose the number of employees to be laid off, Japanese news media earlier in the day reported that the closure of the company’s factory in Hukou would result in 170 employees losing their jobs. Shiseido followed the law by reporting its layoff plan, the department said, adding that authorities would closely monitor negotiations between the management and affected employees and step in if any
RSS