Leading Japanese conglomerate Hitachi is set to intensify its efforts to expand its presence in Asia’s railway market, directly competing with China, the region’s dominant key infrastructure provider.

Hitachi’s strategic focus centers on expanding its presence in Singapore, Malaysia, and India. The company’s ambitions were highlighted on June 19 by Giuseppe Marino, head of Hitachi’s railway systems business and CEO of Hitachi Rail.

The move follows its recent acquisition — completed on May 31 — of Thales Group’s rail signal business. It was a strategic maneuver aimed at enhancing its global footprint and competitiveness.

The new acquisition follows Hitachi’s earlier buyouts of AnsaldoBreda and STS from Italy’s Finmeccanica and consolidates their capabilities in rolling stock, signaling, ticketing systems, and digital services.

While Hitachi, a manufacturer of Japan’s Shinkansen bullet trains, maintains a robust presence in Japan, the UK, and Italy, the acquisition of Thales’ signal business expands its reach into new markets, including France, Germany, Canada, and across Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia.

“We can offer a very integrated system that is connected,” Marino stated, emphasizing the appeal of a comprehensive ‘key-ready’ solution to customers who prefer streamlined procurement processes.

Hitachi’s expansion strategy in Southeast Asia puts it in direct competition with China’s state-owned giant, CRRC Corporation Limited, which is involved in high-speed rail projects across the region.

CRRC has spearheaded high-speed railway initiatives in Indonesia and Thailand and expressed interest in linking Kuala Lumpur to Singapore through high-speed rail. It is a project where Japanese companies have yet to submit proposals.

“We are scouting,” Marino commented in response to the Malaysian high-speed rail plans, indicating Hitachi’s proactive stance in exploring new opportunities amid China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative, which aims to expand its influence through infrastructure projects like the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).

Source: Eurasian Times

Investors across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region are turning to gold, lured by its diversification and haven benefits at a time of uncertain economic growth and rising geopolitical risks.

Asia-Pacific demand has ensured gold prices continue to hover around the record levels struck last month as investors lose faith in other underperforming asset classes like equities and property.

“The investment appetite for gold has grown structurally as prices are supported by consumption demand and as a shelter from geopolitical risks,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist at French investment bank Natixis. “As gold is now perceived as an integral part of a portfolio to diversify risks, the interest from APAC asset managers is likely to sustain and even grow further.”

Echoing these views, Min Lan Tan, head of the APAC chief investment office at UBS Global Wealth Management, said the big unknown for Asia was the upcoming US election and the potential of a tariff shock should Donald Trump be elected.

“If we get a Trump victory, then the level of uncertainty is going to rise much more,” she said, adding that to hedge a potential tariff shock UBS is taking long positions in gold, among other assets.

Meanwhile, a survey conducted jointly by State Street Global Advisors and the World Gold Council and published on Wednesday showed that over the next 12 to 18 months, 27 per cent of APAC asset owners plan to increase their gold investments. That compares with their North American counterparts, where only 21 per cent expect to do the same.

Source: SCMP