• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Dyson invests S$4.93 billion on batteries and robotics, set to build manufacturing hub after moving HQ to S’pore

by Aldgra F.
27/11/2020
in Business, International, Tech
Reading Time: 3 mins read
4

Source: The Open University

British technology company Dyson will invest £2.75 billion (S$4.93 billion) on developing new technologies, with parts of the investments to be utilised on building an advanced manufacturing hub in Singapore, said the firm on Friday (27 November).

Dyson, renowned for its home appliances, aims to double its product portfolio in the next five years and venture into new fields of innovations including machine learning and robotics, as reported by Financial Times.

The company said it would prioritise the commercialisation of the solid-state battery technology it was developing for an electric car project that its namesake founder James Dyson had abandoned last year.

The investments are set to be channelled across Dyson’s operations in Singapore, where it would open a new global headquarters next year, the United Kingdom (UK), and the Philippines.

Dyson also intends to expand its research and development facilities in the city-state, and establish a new university research programme there.

It will build a new software hub in Alabang in the Philippines, while in the UK, Dyson said it would boost its investments at both of its campuses in Wiltshire.

“Now is the time to invest in new technologies such as energy storage, robotics and software which will drive performance and sustainability in our products for the benefit of Dyson’s customers,” said Dyson’s chief executive officer Roland Krueger.

“We will expand our existing product categories, as well as enter entirely new fields for Dyson over the next five years. This will start a new chapter in Dyson’s development,” he added.

Why is Dyson moving its HQ to S’pore?

It was reported last year that Dyson has secured a new global headquarters building in Singapore at the historic building St James Power Station.

Jim Rowan, the former CEO of Dyson, stressed that the move to the city-state was not due to the UK’s tax regime or Brexit, but because the company wants to be “future-proof for where we see the biggest opportunities”.

“We have seen an acceleration of opportunities to grow the company from a revenue perspective in Asia,” Rowan told WIRED. “We have always had a revenue stream there and will be putting up our best efforts as well as keeping an eye on investments.”

But there’s more to that.

WIRED’s report highlighted that Singapore and the European Union had not only signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), but they also signed an Investment Protection Agreement in October 2018 and a framework agreement that will drive closer partnership and cooperation.

The news report quoted, “Come Brexit Day on March 29, should there be a ‘no deal’ scenario, it will be easier to trade with the EU if you’re a Singaporean company, rather than a British outfit.”

Linda Lim, an economist at the University of Michigan, told WIRED that companies that locate their headquarters in Singapore will get tax incentives and benefits from the city-state.

“A case in point is the US semiconductor company Broadcom, which had its global HQ in Singapore, while basically the vast majority of the leadership was in the US,” she noted.

Ms Lim believes that “the most critical motivator” to Dyson’s move is the investment incentives offered by the Singaporean government. These incentives include tax breaks, various subsidies – such as grants for research and development – state equity investments and loans, she said.

“These have not been and may not be disclosed, but given Singapore’s many disadvantages as a manufacturing location especially for automobiles, I can’t imagine that Dyson is investing there without some such incentives,” she added.

Meanwhile, an economics professor at Kingston University, Steve Keen, opined that Dyson’s motive of moving its HQ to Singapore is likely due to the skills shortages in the UK.

“There’s also a marketing angle. A Ford EV is ‘meh’ next to a Tesla, because of Musk’s justified image as an innovator. A Dyson is just as Wow! on that front as a Tesla, given Dyson’s reputation as an innovator,” he added.

Mr Keen continued, “Finding the engineers to implement a new design should be much easier in Singapore than in the UK.”

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.
Tags: Dyson

Related Posts

No Content Available
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
4 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

Ministers get away with excuses that ordinary citizens cannot hope to get away with

07/02/2023
Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

Commemorative coin, exhibitions and various activities to mark 100th anniversary of Lee Kuan Yew’s birth

07/02/2023
国会内庆妇女节 女议员获赠鲜花

15 companies barred from hiring new foreign employees after serious safety lapse found at worksite

07/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

India’s Adani Enterprises shares rocket 20%, trading suspended

07/02/2023
China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

China’s Baidu says developing AI chatbot

07/02/2023
Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

Thai rescuers dig to free baby trapped down well

07/02/2023
Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

Desmond Lee says 70% of BTO flats affordable for median household with income of S$8,400 but what about the 10th to 40th percentile?

07/02/2023
Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

Returning Officer to issue corrective directions, overseas Singaporeans allowed to vote by post, among changes to laws tabled to Parliament

07/02/2023

Trending posts

Cognizant India transfers staff to work in Singapore as recently as this year

Local IT grads can’t find jobs while engineers constantly transferred from India to work in SG under CECA

by Correspondent
05/02/2023
105

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
47

...

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

Adani’s brother runs SG company and registers as director with local ID

by Correspondent
03/02/2023
26

...

No response from Josephine Teo on whether Mediacorp has been instructed to stop coverage of SMT circulation scandal

No response from Josephine Teo over alleged blackout of coverage by Mediacorp over SMT circulation scandal

by Terry Xu
06/02/2023
12

...

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Japanese-Canadian junior high school girl breaks national record with 3km in 9:02 mins

“I want my normal life back,” Sherry Drury withdraws from National Junior High School Tournament due to overheated public attention

by Yee Loon
06/02/2023
3

...

November 2020
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Oct   Dec »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz