With Trump set to assume the US presidency on January 20 next year, the continuation of US-China trade tensions is anticipated. This has prompted the biomedical industry to seek refuge by establishing production bases in ASEAN countries, a trend gaining significant attention. Following BIOTEQUE and Health & Life, Avita plans to invest NT$300–350 million to set up a plant in Thailand, while contact lens manufacturers PEGAVISION and Visco Vision are building production lines in Vietnam and Malaysia, respectively, to expand their operational footprints.
Trump has stated his intention to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese goods after taking office, with tariffs expected to increase further in the future. In response, the biomedical industry, particularly the medical device sector, is actively relocating production to ASEAN. BIOTEQUE has already built a factory in Subic Bay, Philippines, while Wellell continues to manufacture and ship high-end products from Taiwan. Health & Life is transferring its Suzhou production line in China to its Vietnam plant, aiming for completion by 2025.
Avita announced that, in response to customer demand, its new plant in Thailand broke ground in October. This facility is expected to enhance industry competitiveness and reduce customer tariff burdens, with mass production slated to begin in the second quarter of 2026.
Health & Life's General Manager, Lee Shao-hung, noted that after gradually relocating production lines to Vietnam, the company's gross profit margin improved by 4 percentage points in the first half of this year, reaching nearly 16%. Once the production transfer is completed, costs will be significantly reduced, with the gross profit margin estimated to increase by over 10 percentage points, potentially reaching 30%.
Meanwhile, in the contact lens sector, PEGAVISION has invested NT$1.051 billion to establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Vietnam and build new production lines with a planned monthly capacity of 15 million lenses. Visco Vision's Malaysian facility has a monthly capacity of 38 million lenses.
HyLasco Bio-Technology has chosen India as its production base. In addition to its facility in Genome Valley, Hyderabad, the company plans to establish a second production site.
Among the earliest biomedical companies to establish an ASEAN base is YungShin Global Holding’s Malaysian subsidiary, which is now one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in the region.
All Cosmos Bio-Tech, specializing in biochemical compound fertilizers, currently operates three factories in Malaysia with a combined annual production capacity of 350,000 tons. Leveraging its pioneering advantage in biochemical compound fertilizers, the company has expanded into Indonesia. Its new factory in Indonesia will complete equipment installation and commence trial production in the fourth quarter, with formal operations beginning next year. The facility is expected to contribute an additional 50,000 tons of capacity annually.
Analysts note that establishing production bases in Southeast Asia offers a strategic advantage for accessing the US market, benefiting from tariff relief. It also facilitates entry into the EU market with favorable terms while capitalizing on ASEAN's demographic dividends, reduced labor costs, and pro-investment policies encouraging southbound expansion. This trend is expected to ignite an investment boom.
Resource: 避中美烽火 生醫業南移東協 合世、豪展、晶碩建置生產基地
