Asia's factories end 2025 on firmer footing as orders pick up

Asia's factory powerhouses closed 2025 on a firmer footing, with activity swinging back to growth in several key economies as export orders picked up, helped by new product launches and blistering demand for artificial intelligence.

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Dancers perform next to a BYD Sealion 7 at the Singapore Motor Show last January. BYD sold 2.26 million electric vehicles in 2023, a company statement showed on Thursday.

(AFP)

Purchasing managers’ indexes (PMIs) released by S&P Global on Friday showed factory activity in the major tech-exporting economies of South Korea and Taiwan snapping months of declines in December, while most Southeast Asian nations maintained brisk growth.

They followed PMIs released for China on Tuesday, which also showed an unexpected turnaround in factory activity in the world’s second-largest economy, helped by a pre-holiday surge in orders.

While it is too early to say whether Asia's largest exporters are adjusting to US tariffs, a pickup in global demand had given some manufacturers cause for optimism heading into the new year.