Finnish education, after the hype
Finland's education story was built on magic. The useful part is the research-based methods and tools that cross borders, and the two Finnish learning tools now being introduced in Malaysian classrooms.
Blog
Notes on doing business in Malaysia and Southeast Asia, for Finnish companies and Malaysians entering Finland. Newest first; each post shows the date it was first published.
Penang's top sales team came home with good leads. Who fixes the potholes?
The Chief Minister's San Jose trip brought back leads, and Budget 2027 put Penang's finance centre on the map. The smart-city question that matters is whether the road outside someone's house gets fixed.
Did I just witness the opening ceremony of Penang's first unicorn?
A joint-venture factory opened in Penang on Friday 4 September. Whether it becomes a unicorn is unknown, but the industrial automation layer underneath is where Finnish companies have a real opening.
Penang just landed a €435 million robot surgeon factory
Intuitive, the company behind the da Vinci surgical robot, is building its first Southeast Asian factory in Penang. The medtech supply chain behind it is the part Finnish suppliers should be looking at.
Who collects Malaysia's carbon money?
Malaysia's first real carbon price is not coming to the pump. It arrived at the EU border, and the companies that can measure and verify emissions are the ones who keep the margin.
Where the rain pays the bills
Sarawak has been turning its rivers and rain into power for decades. Behind the dams sit hydrogen, data centres and a state that controls its own front door, which makes it the quiet Malaysia most Finnish boardrooms have never considered.
Nobody plans to stay in Penang
Expats arrive with a fixed term and a return flight. Penang has a way of making them stop thinking about the flight home, and that is the real question for any Finnish company sending people here.
The Malaysia opportunity Finnish companies are missing
Malaysia just posted its highest investment year on record. Finnish companies are still looking past it, and the window for suppliers is open now.