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More than 90% of manufacturers embrace regionalization for stronger supply chains, Kearney finds

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Nearly two-thirds of manufacturers are adopting a “power-of-two” strategy, ensuring the majority of their direct spending is sourced from two separate regions.Attractiveness of low-cost manufacturing hubs such as India and Brazil for FDI drops by 15%.

LONDON, Dec. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with global consultancy Kearney, has today released its latest report, Beyond Cost: Country Readiness for Manufacturing and Supply Chains, highlighting that more than 90% of manufacturing executives are prioritizing regional supply chain strategies.

Firms have learned to adapt to recent supply disruptions (such as Covid and the Suez Canal blockage) in recent years, but the industrial landscape remains unsettled by a mix of geopolitical and environmental factors, including a year of numerous elections across the globe and the resulting impact of potential protectionist tariffs. As a result, regionalization is becoming a key tactic to safeguard against global trade disruptions.

The findings from more than 300 global operations executives show that nearly two-thirds of manufacturers are adopting a “power-of-two” strategy, having the majority of their spend sourced across two separate regions. This shift moves beyond the traditional focus on best cost to include holistic factors such as infrastructure, technology, skilled labor, and sustainability.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in low-cost manufacturing declines as priorities shift

The shift from “best-cost” to “value-driven” investment strategies is also playing a key role in foreign direct investment (FDI) trends in manufacturing hubs, with traditional low-cost regions losing their appeal. “Adapter” countries such as Brazil and India, characterized by a GDP per capita that sits below the global average and with a limited contribution of the manufacturing sector to GDP, have experienced a 15% decline in FDI attractiveness as cheap labor alone is no longer enough to sustain long-term investment.

In contrast, “connectors” such as Bangladesh and Mexico which (like adapters) have historically traded on their best-cost status but whose contribution of manufacturing to GDP is higher, have seen the appeal of their inward investment improve by 14%.

“Scalers” like Singapore and Ireland have, on average, seen steady FDI growth, up 2% thanks to strong infrastructure and favorable regulatory environments. Similarly, “convergers” such as the United States and Denmark have also seen an average 2% increase in FDI, attracting long-term investment by focusing on factors like sustainability and infrastructure.

This shift in FDI confidence aligns with actual FDI changes over the same period. Countries with higher GDP per capita have experienced more significant FDI growth, regardless of the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP. “Convergers” such as the US and Denmark experienced an average 295% rise in FDI in the past 10 years, while “scalers” like Singapore and Ireland saw an average 215% increase. On the lower end, “connectors” like Mexico and Bangladesh saw FDI growth of an average 144%, double that of “adapters” such as India and Brazil, which recorded just an average 74% increase.

Per Kristian Hong, Partner and Americas Strategic Operations and Performance Lead, Kearney, commented:
“With over 2 billion voters across 50 countries having cast ballots in 2024, 2025 will be a critical year for every company reliant on cross-border operations.

“Plans to accelerate a sweeping range of policies, intended to reset global trade through tariffs and export controls, will require businesses to reassess their network manufacturing footprint beyond merely low-cost alone. A more complex and nuanced decision-making process is needed, one that considers flexibility and a country’s ability to deliver environmental change in line with global strategic priorities.”

Kiva Allgood, Head, Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, World Economic Forum added:
“As global value chains undergo a profound transformation, countries and companies have a unique opportunity to redefine their competitive edge.

“This report highlights how countries that deploy innovative policies and invest across these seven factors can position themselves as leaders in the evolving manufacturing landscape, driving economic growth and societal progress.”

The World Economic Forum and Kearney report identifies seven critical readiness factors that drive private sector decision-making and shape the attractiveness of a country amid the global rewiring of supply chains. These factors serve as a guide for policymakers and industries, covering:

InfrastructureResources and energyTechnologyLabor and skillsFiscal and regulatoryGeopolitical landscapeEnvironmental, social, and governance

Read the full report here.

Notes to editor
To understand how businesses are adapting to the changing global value chain landscape, the World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Kearney, surveyed over 300 global operations executives and conducted 60 consultations on strategies for future-proofing supply chains.

This paper evaluates countries’ readiness for next-generation manufacturing across seven key factors, highlighting that attractiveness for manufacturing investment now goes beyond just cost.

About the World Economic Forum 
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. (www.weforum.org).

About Kearney
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm. For nearly 100 years, we have been a trusted advisor to C-suites, government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. Our people make us who we are. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and making it happen, we work alongside our clients to regenerate their businesses to create a future that works for everyone.

Press contact (UK)
Tom Stewart-Walvin
Rostrum – PR consultants to Kearney 
t.stewart-walvin@rostrum.agency
Kearney@rostrum.agency   

Press contact (US)
Meir Kahtan
MKPR
mkahtan@rcn.com
+1 917-864-0800

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InfoComm Asia Returns to Bangkok as the Region’s Pro AV Super Connector Event from 15-17 July 2026

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April 29, 2026

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Exclusive 15th May Sneak Peek: Smart Workplace & Education Environments Event to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

BANGKOK, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Now in its 6th edition, InfoComm Asia 2026 returns to Bangkok, Thailand, 15-17 July at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC). As the region’s Professional Audiovisual (Pro AV) industry super connector event, InfoComm Asia brings together exhibition, conference, and high-level networking into one powerful platform for the Pro AV and technology solutions ecosystem.

Designed as the central meeting point for solution providers, manufacturers, system integrators, consultants, and Pro AV and technology end users, InfoComm Asia enables meaningful connections across the entire value chain while providing an immersive stage to showcase fully integrated, real-world Pro AV applications.

Over 200 global brands are expected to participate in this year’s event, with prominent audio giants such as Yamaha, Soundking, SHURE, Audio Technica and leading visual, display and lighting brands including COLORLIGHT, LUMENS, VITEC, Fabulux, to networking and Pro AV integration stalwarts NETGEAR, Extron, AVCIT, and many more. New to join this year include Hemona (N-Labs) from India, Transtech from China, Yo-Tronics Technology, and Aimiciot Electronics, to name a few.  

InfoComm Asia also serves as the annual flagship gathering for AVIXA–the global Audiovisual and Integrated Experience Association–chapters in Asia. The event hosts additional comprehensive AVIXA-led activities, including industry presentations, roundtables, AVIXA Xchange Live, experiential technology tours, networking sessions, mixers, and fireside chats. Combined with InfoComm Asia’s main stage summit conference hosting renowned Pro AV innovators and experts, networking events, and experiential activities, the InfoComm Asia experience fosters professional development, thought leadership, and peer-to-peer engagement, positioning it as the region’s most influential knowledge and relationship-building platform for Pro AV professionals.

Past testimonials and visitors to InfoComm Asia note:

“InfoComm Asia is the place to be! If you are in the AV industry, you must be here, and you cannot afford to miss it. We met with many consultants and integrators who help guide their end-user customers to make the right decisions on the choice of products, and lots of end-user customers who came with ready budgets.” 

Anand Hariharan, Director, Solutions Engineer from Cisco

“We see a good influx of visitors at InfoComm Asia. We met with buyers from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and even those from China. We also attended to customers from Australia, South Korea and about ten times more customers from Japan.” 

Marthesh Nagendra, Senior Director, Enterprise APAC from Netgear

“InfoComm Asia has a unique regional flavor you don’t get elsewhere. It’s a great place to reconnect with familiar faces and explore what’s ahead for the Pro AV industry.”

Mitera Tsuyoshi, Director, Cerevo Inc.

“We came to check new products and new technologies that we can incorporate to our system and bring back to our projects and distribution in the Philippines. The technology we see here is advanced, such as the ultra-thin LED screens that can be installed on glass. That’s one of the many advanced technologies we are looking for at the show.”

Jeffrey Beloro, AV Technical Manager from AV Beyond Innovations, The Philippines

“This is a great place to see what the new technologies are and learn about them. I was pleasantly surprised by how expansive and well-represented the show was. It’s a fantastic platform to explore the latest AV technologies relevant to our projects in the region.”

Bruce Crompton, Director, Crompton Manufacturing Consultants Vietnam

“As creative technologists, we rely on both our artistic instincts and technology. Things are evolving at bullet-train speed — that’s why events like InfoComm Asia are so important. They help us keep up, connect, and stay ahead.”

Linda Lim, CEO & Co-Founder, Studio X Beyond Thailand

“I came here for better ideas and to source for devices. I was lucky to find at least seven matching products, and that has already exceeded my expectations.”

Tuan Khoi Nguyen, Founder and Director of AK Technologies, Vietnam

Regional Momentum: Sneak Peek in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Pro AV professionals can get a sneak peek of what is to come by attending the 15th May 2026 InfoComm Asia Pro AV Connect: Malaysia event. This roadshow themed “Rearchitecting Smart Workplace and Education Environments for the Next Decade” will present keynotes on Designing Intelligent Workplace and Learning Ecosystems, From Classrooms to Campuses and Offices: Converged Platforms in Action, and a panel discussion on AI, Data, and the Future of Collaboration and Learning Experiences. Participating Pro AV market leaders include Crestron.

Event Date: Friday, 15 May 2026

Time: 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Venue: Ballroom A, Level 2, Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral  

Address: 5, Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, 50470, Kuala Lumpur

Complimentary Registration Details

By uniting innovation, collaboration, and strategic business development, InfoComm Asia empowers participants to demonstrate impact, discover opportunities, and accelerate growth across the region’s diverse industries.

Online pre-registration is now open via the InfoComm Asia’s Online Registration System

Remaining stand and sponsorship opportunities are available via our opportunities page

Inquiry and application to our invited guest program can be found here

About InfoCommAsia
InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd. extends its influence through three marquee shows: InfoComm Asia; InfoComm China, Beijing; and InfoComm India. Each show features an exhibition that showcases the world’s most cutting-edge and in-demand professional audiovisual and integrated experience technology solutions and a summit that presents learning opportunities. The shows bring together professional audiovisual industry players and top-level decision-makers from across different markets to tap into the vast potential presented by pro AV solutions.

For more information, visit:

infocomm-asia.com | infocomm-china.com | infocomm-india.com 

Global Media Enquiries:

Angie Eng
Director, Marketing, InfoCommAsia Pte Ltd
T: +65 8163 2109
E: media@infocommasia.com; angieeng@infocommasia.com

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SOURCE InfoComm Asia

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Bonree Retains No.1 Position in China’s APMO Market Share, IDC Reports

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April 29, 2026

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HONG KONG, SINGAPORE and BEIJING, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recently, International Data Corporation (IDC) released its China IT Intelligent Operations Software Market Tracking Report, H2 2025 (the “Report”). According to the report, Bonree Data Technology Co., Ltd. (stock code: 688229) ranked first in China’s Application Performance Management and Observability (APMO) market, with a 17.6% market share in the second half of 2025. For the full year, the company achieved a 19.8% market share, further strengthening its position in the market. This performance reflects strong market recognition of Bonree’s product capabilities, technological innovation, and service quality, as well as sustained demand for intelligent observability and operations solutions across industries. It also underscores the company’s long-term commitment to the observability and intelligent operations space, built over more than 18 years of continuous innovation and customer-focused development.

As the first publicly listed company in China’s Application Performance Management (APM) and observability market, Bonree is advancing its globalisation strategy with established operations in Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, and Malaysia. The company has already secured multi-million deals across Hong Kong SAR and Malaysia. Bonree complies with internationally recognised standards, including SOC 2 Type II and CMMI Level 5. Its self-developed LLM-powered observability platform has been selected for Huawei Cloud’s international baseline solution library, reflecting recognition from global cloud ecosystems and supporting its expansion with a “global deployment, local compliance” approach.

Bonree serves over 1,000 leading clients worldwide with system monitoring, performance optimisation, and intelligent operations solutions. Leveraging proprietary unsupervised knowledge graph root cause analysis technology and AI-driven intelligent analytics, Bonree delivers plug-and-play monitoring and fully managed adaptive alerting systems that detect anomalies quickly and accurately with minimal noise. Bonree holds 56 authorised invention patents and 135 software copyrights, and reports an NPS of 79 and a client satisfaction rate of 95%, reflecting strong customer trust across global markets. With these core strengths, Bonree continues to lead in global fintech and digital operations, helping clients ensure business continuity and digital transformation while striving to become a leading global player in APM and observability.

CONTACT: Xiaohan Yao, yaoxiaohan@bonree.com, +8618210189324

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SOURCE Bonree Data Technology Co., Ltd.

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KuCoin and Lightnet Explore Collaboration to Advance Digital Asset and Payment Infrastructure Across Southeast Asia

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April 29, 2026

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PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos Islands, April 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — KuCoin, a leading global crypto platform built on trust, announced it is exploring potential collaboration with Southeast Asia-based fintech company Lightnet. By combining KuCoin’s global digital asset trading ecosystem with Lightnet’s cross-border payment infrastructure and fintech expertise, the two parties aim to explore long-term opportunities in the digital asset space across Southeast Asia.

The collaboration is dedicated to exploring potential synergies in the region. It is designed to integrate both parties’ capabilities to establish a forward-looking ecosystem for digital financial services, and to enhance digital asset infrastructure development across the region. It also reflects a shared vision to support the broader adoption of blockchain-based solutions in emerging markets.

Lightnet is a fintech company operating a licensed global settlement network and global payment infrastructure, leveraging blockchain technology to improve the efficiency and transparency of cross-border transactions.

BC Wong, CEO of KuCoin, commented:

“Southeast Asia represents one of the most dynamic regions for digital financial innovation. Through our collaboration with Lightnet, we aim to combine our respective strengths in digital asset trading and cross-border payments to explore more efficient and sustainable financial solutions. This partnership reflects KuCoin’s continued commitment to advancing trusted and compliant infrastructure on a global scale.”

Tridbodi Arunanondchai, Group CEO, Lightnet, added:

“We see strong synergies between Lightnet’s cross-border payment infrastructure and KuCoin’s global ecosystem. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to expanding access to efficient financial solutions across Southeast Asia. We look forward to exploring opportunities together within appropriate regulatory frameworks.”

Both parties stated that they will continue to explore collaboration opportunities within appropriate regulatory frameworks, contributing to the development of a more accessible, efficient, and inclusive digital financial ecosystem in the regions.

About KuCoin

Founded in 2017, KuCoin is a leading global crypto platform built on trust, serving over 40 million users across 200+ countries and regions. Known for its reliability and user-first approach, the platform combines advanced technology, deep liquidity, and strong security safeguards to deliver a seamless trading experience. KuCoin provides access to 1,500+ digital assets through a broad product suite and remains committed to building transparent, compliant, and user-centric digital asset infrastructure for the future of finance, backed by SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001:2022, and ISO/IEC 27701:2019 Certifications. In recent years, we have built a strong global compliance foundation, marked by key milestones including AUSTRAC registration in Australia, a MiCA license in Europe, and regulatory progress in other markets.

Learn more at www.kucoin.com.

About Lightnet

Lightnet is a Southeast Asia-based fintech company operating under a multi-jurisdiction regulatory framework. It has operations across over 150 countries with deep local partnerships throughout Asia and expanding globally. Lightnet provides fast cross-border settlement, on/off ramps and liquidity services for both fiats and digital assets to banks, fintechs and web 3 businesses.

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SOURCE KuCoin

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