Lixil India: LIXIL Corporation, which owns various bathroom brands like GROHE and American Standard, is targeting double-digit growth in India by expanding into Tier-2 cities and strengthening its B2B business. The company reports a nearly equal split between its B2B and B2C segments, and it expects the B2B side to grow faster due to large scale high-rise developer orders. For fiscal 2025, LIXIL projects growth in the 15-20% range, driven by rising demand from premium bathroo

Southeast Asia Transitioning to Low Global Warming Potential Refrigerants Over the past decade, Southeast Asia’s cooling industry has been undergoing a profound transformation. Once dominated by high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants such as R22 and R410A, the region is now steadily transitioning towards lower-GWP alternatives, led by R32 and other next-generation blends. This analysis focuses on the five major ASEAN markets, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia,

SCG Decor THAILAND: SCG Decor Public Company Limited (SCGD) reported robust third-quarter results for 2025, achieving its strongest performance since listing on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Net profit rose sharply as the company enhanced operational efficiency, expanded production at PRIME Vietnam its regional production and export hub and launched innovative high-value-added (HVA) bathroom and kitchen solutions. New offerings such as the DUACT-TAP & GO automatic toilet, X

Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Limited INDIA: Kirloskar Pneumatic Company Limited (KPCL) has announced plans to enter the commercial air conditioning segment, aiming to tap into a market valued at over ₹5,000 crore (~US$602 million). The company’s Board has approved filing a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme application to support this venture.  The initiative is part of KPCL’s broader strategy to diversify its portfolio beyond its core air, refrigeration, and gas compres

TOTO Reports Mixed Regional Performance with Growth in Asia and Europe Japan: TOTO Corporation reported varied performance across its global operations for the third quarter of FY2025. The company plans to accelerate the expansion of new products with strong demand. Its International Housing Equipment Business also saw a mixed performance, while the Americas recorded a significant increase in WASHLET sales across all channels, profits were affected by exchange rates and growt

Somany Impresa Group Invests in Building Materials Platform Through Corporate VC Arm India: Somany Impresa Group has expanded its corporate venture capital activities through its investment arm, SIG Tattva, with a strategic investment of INR 60 million (USD 0.7 million/ EUR 0.65 million) in Mad Over Buildings, a fintech-enabled B2B ecommerce platform for building materials. This marks SIG Tattva’s second publicly announced investment since its formal launch in November last y

Research Lab in Japan Japan: Samsung Electronics announced on Wednesday the opening of a new heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) research lab in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, northern Japan, aimed at developing heating solutions for extreme weather conditions. The region, where winter temperatures can drop to minus 20°C, provides an ideal environment for testing defrost and heat pump systems. The company stated that the lab will focus on advancing technology research and

Air Conditioners Lead Brand Competitiveness South Korea: Despite the ongoing economic downturn and high inflation this year, efforts to enhance brand competitiveness stood out in Korea’s manufacturing sector, particularly in home appliances such as air conditioners. According to the Korea Productivity Center’s 2025 National Brand Competitiveness Index (NBCI) survey, the air conditioner sector recorded the greatest improvement in brand competitiveness, rising by 2.6% from the

Launches First Smart Home Appliance China: Xiaomi announced the start of production at its first smart home appliance factory in Wuhan, China, marking its third major manufacturing base after its automobile and smartphone factories. Spanning 751 mu (about 500,000 square meters), the new facility initially focuses on air conditioner production and features six sub-factories covering the full supply chain of household and central air-conditioning systems. Equipped with Xiaomi’s

construction THAILAND: The Thai condominium market experienced a notable slowdown in the first half of 2025, according to Knight Frank analysts. Major developers such as Sansiri, Sena, Major Development, and SC Asset delayed the launch of new projects, Real Estate Asia reported. However, experts highlighted opportunities in the secondary market, where significant discounts are currently available. "Over the past six months, no significant projects for the construction of new

Heat pump The market for heat pump water heaters (HPWH) in Australia, once a clean energy success, has declined sharply since 2024. This downturn is likely to continue into 2025. After two years of strong growth fueled by generous rebates, the industry now struggles with reduced subsidies, poor-quality imports, and decreasing consumer trust.  From Boom to Bust   Between 2022 and 2023, the HPWH sector grew quickly, thanks to federal Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) a

Jomoo Thailand: TOA Paint (Thailand) Public Company Limited has entered the smart bathroom solutions market through a strategic partnership with JOMOO, a global bathroom fixtures brand. The company has inaugurated its first comprehensive Smart Bathroom Solution, featuring the flagship X-Series intelligent toilet. This collaboration aims to achieve sales of 200 million baht (US$ 6.1 million) within three years, reflecting TOA’s strategic pivot toward serving the health-conscio

Bangladesh’s air-conditioning (AC) market expanded rapidly from 2021 onwards, driven by rising incomes, fast urbanisation, and increasingly hotter summers that made cooling a necessity rather than a luxury. Annual sales rose sharply from 2021, nearly doubling by 2024, reflecting the sector’s swift transformation into a large and dynamic industry. The residential segment contributed the largest share of market value, while commercial systems played a smaller but significant ro

LG Indonesia: LG Electronics has launched a new partner-operated production facility in Bekasi, West Java, dedicated to manufacturing air conditioners as part of its Global South expansion strategy. Spanning 32,000 square meters, the facility began operations in October 2025 with the capacity to produce approximately 700,000 indoor and outdoor units in its first year. LG plans to double this capacity further in the near future. The Bekasi plant follows the Korean Quality Cont

DTI Destroys Unregistered Ceramic Sanitaryware Worth PHP 4.6 Million Philippines: The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has destroyed around PHP 4.6 million (approximately USD 79,000 / EUR 74,000) worth of unregistered ceramic sanitaryware at its Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau warehouse in Marikina City. The products were confiscated as part of the agency’s ongoing enforcement operations against substandard goods that violate Republic Act 4109, also known as th

Madinah Chamber of Commerce and Industry SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia is implementing development projects worth over SAR 200 billion (US$56 billion) in Madinah to expand infrastructure for the rising number of pilgrims, projected to reach 30 million by 2030. According to the Madinah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a total of 224 projects are under way, including 15 government-led, 10 semi-government, and 199 private-sector initiatives. The projects cover more than 30 million

On September 22, 2025, the Government of India implemented a major reform in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, reducing the GST rate on air conditioners (ACs) from 28% to 18%. This change is part of the broader GST 2.0 initiative, which simplified the tax regime into three slabs—5% for essentials, 18% for standard goods, and 40% for luxury items. The reduction in GST has led to a direct price drop of ₹1,500 to ₹3,500 per unit, depending on the model and brand. This

Systemair SAUDI ARABIA: Systemair Saudi Arabia has inaugurated a fully owned manufacturing facility in Riyadh, covering a land area of 13,000 square metres with a 9,000-square-metre factory. The facility will manufacture a range of ventilation products for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and the wider GCC. It includes dedicated areas for production, equipment servicing, and repairs, and aims to strengthen local manufacturing while supporting Saudi Arabia’s industrial and sustai

Saudi Arabia SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi Arabia National Housing Co. (NHC) signed agreements to develop more than 24,000 homes as part of a 100,000-home Saudi-Chinese plan to expand residential supply. The deals were finalized during an Asian tour by Minister of Municipalities and Housing Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, who visited China and South Korea to strengthen partnerships in housing, infrastructure, and smart cities. “Al-Hogail emphasized that the tour is part of a comprehensiv

Singapore Launches Largest Industrial District Cooling Network in Ang Mo Kio Singapore: Singapore Launches Largest Industrial District Cooling Network in Ang Mo Kio, supplying STMicroelectronics and cutting cooling electricity use by 20%. The USD 513 million project, developed by SP Group and Daikin Airconditioning, will reduce up to 120,000 tonnes of carbon emissions and save over 500,000 cubic metres of water annually. Covering 90,000 sq m, the system repurposes 4,000 sq m