Export Knowhow
APAC in 2026: Where Swiss Tech and MEM companies can still find growth
May 28, 2026
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Asia-Pacific remains the world's largest theatre of industrial investment – but the map has shifted.
With Europe sluggish and China increasingly challenging, Swiss tech industry players – machinery, electrical engineering and metals (MEM) companies – need to look more carefully at where in APAC growth still happens. The entry into force of the EFTA–India trade agreement, a maturing "China+1" supply-chain logic, and accelerating automation spending across Southeast Asia are reshaping the opportunity landscape.
State of play: a difficult year, an uneven region
2025 proved a difficult year for Switzerland's tech industry. According to Swissmem, export volumes across the mechanical, electrical and metals sector stagnated (+0.6%) over the first three quarters of the year. The regional picture was more telling: exports to Asia fell 4.9% and shipments to the US dropped 3.8%, while a renewed increase in exports to the EU (+2.9%) provided the only meaningful stabiliser. Yet the picture inside APAC is far from uniform.
In 2025, India once again stood out as the only major growth market for the Swiss tech industry, even as exports to most other regions declined. Asia remains a major destination for Swiss exports, accounting for roughly a quarter of total goods exported, and it continues to represent a large share of global capital-goods demand. For Swiss MEM companies, the challenge is less about "whether APAC" and more about sharpening where, for what, and with whom.
+ 0.6 0.6 %
Swiss MEM export growth in 2025
- 4.9 4.9 %
exports to Asia
~ 25 25 %
of Swiss goods exports go to Asia
The policy tailwind: EFTA–India TEPA
The most significant structural development for Swiss industrial exporters in APAC is the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between the EFTA States and India, which entered into force on 1 October 2025. After sixteen years of negotiations, TEPA is the first free trade agreement India has concluded with a European grouping – and it includes a binding commitment linked to investment promotion. EFTA States have pledged to facilitate USD 100 billion in foreign direct investment into India over fifteen years, linked to the creation of one million direct jobs.
For Swiss machinery, precision instruments and medical-device exporters, the headline benefit is tariff elimination or phased reduction across the vast majority of industrial product lines into a market of 1.4 billion consumers with historically high import duties. TEPA also eases the temporary stay of technical personnel for installation and maintenance – a practical unblocker for capital-equipment suppliers. A dedicated India–EFTA Desk has been set up as a single-window facilitation mechanism for EFTA businesses investing in India.
In parallel, Swissmem continues to press for ratification of the FTAs with Thailand and Malaysia and for updates to the existing agreements with China and Japan. Progress on those fronts would further improve the framework for Swiss exporters across the region.
The Swiss tech industry is operating in a demanding environment, with stagnating demand in Europe and growing competitive pressure in China. APAC continues to offer growth potential, but success depends on clearly prioritising target markets, building reliable local partnerships, and investing in service and application capabilities on the ground.
Adrian Vogel
Head of Industry Sectors, SwissmemWhere the automation money is going
Across APAC, industrial automation investment remains robust, but the drivers have shifted.
China
In China, the "Made in China 2025" push has matured into concrete demand for high-end customised technology in automotive, aerospace, new-energy and medtech applications – segments where Swiss suppliers still hold clear technical advantages. At the same time, China's pursuit of self-sufficiency is raising compliance costs and forcing foreign suppliers to adapt their go-to-market models.
Southeast Asia
The "China+1" thesis is no longer just a slogan. Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and India are all absorbing real manufacturing relocation, particularly in electronics, semiconductors, EV components and precision engineering. Analysis of the trend suggests that the strongest opportunities for Swiss MEM suppliers lie less in raw capacity expansion and more in the quality, energy-efficiency and automation upgrades these new facilities require – precisely the areas where Swiss technology competes on value rather than price.
Japan & South Korea
Japan and South Korea, meanwhile, remain demanding but lucrative markets for high-precision components, machine tools and niche automation, where proven reliability and long-term service partnerships count more than headline cost.
Swiss positioning: quality, niches, proximity
Swiss MEM companies rarely win in APAC on price. They win on precision, reliability, process know-how and the ability to solve a specific customer problem better than anyone else. Sectors where this plays out today include machine tools and tooling, measurement and testing, medical technology, pharma production equipment, power-generation and grid components, and specialised subsystems for semiconductor manufacturing.
Two practical lessons keep surfacing. First, winning the first customer is rarely the hardest part – delivering reliable after-sales service, spare parts and local technical support is where many expansions stumble. Second, partner selection matters more than partner quantity: a single well-chosen distributor or joint-venture partner with genuine sector access typically outperforms a scattergun network.
How Swiss companies can benefit
For Swiss tech industry SMEs, three moves tend to pay off in the current environment. The first is using TEPA deliberately: reviewing product portfolios against the tariff schedule, checking rules-of-origin compliance, and factoring preferential access into pricing for India from day one. The second is diversifying within APAC rather than treating the region as a single bloc – a Southeast Asia footprint increasingly complements, rather than replaces, a China presence. The third is investing early in local technical and service capability, because decarbonisation, energy-efficiency and digital-service demands from APAC customers are rising fast and cannot be handled remotely from Switzerland.
S-GE and the Swiss Business Hubs across the region, embedded in the Swiss diplomatic network, can support Swiss companies along the full export journey – from market analysis and strategy consulting to distribution partner management models and on-the-ground execution. Practical entry points include S-GE's Export Workshops and tailored Market Intelligence Projects for companies assessing specific APAC opportunities. More information is available at s-ge.com
Use TEPA deliberately
Review product portfolios against the tariff schedule, check rules-of-origin compliance, and factor preferential access into pricing for India from day one.
Diversify within APAC
A Southeast Asia footprint increasingly complements, rather than replaces, a China presence. Treat the region as multiple distinct markets, not a single bloc.
Invest in local capability
Decarbonisation, energy-efficiency and digital-service demands from APAC customers are rising fast and cannot be handled remotely from Switzerland.
In an increasingly competitive global environment, Swiss companies face more foreign competitors than ever. It makes sense to reassess your internationalisation strategy and adapt to these external forces, using the right tools and tapping into targeted support along the way.
Daniel Bont
Senior Consultant, Switzerland Global EnterpriseBottom line
APAC in 2026 is not the easy growth story it was a decade ago, but it remains the single largest pool of industrial investment in the world – and the policy environment for Swiss exporters has improved meaningfully with TEPA. For Swiss MEM companies willing to sharpen their market focus, invest in local service capability and use the new trade framework with India deliberately, the region still offers real room to grow.
