Overseas expansion of optical modules, with Southeast Asia emerging as a key stop
Optical modules are becoming one of the hottest businesses in AI infrastructure.
This growth is directly reflected in the financial reports. The "Yizhongtian" group represented by Zhongji Innolight, New Photonics, and Tianfu Communication is becoming the most direct beneficiary of this round of AI super - narrative.
In the first quarter of 2026, Zhongji Innolight's revenue reached 19.496 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 192%; New Photonics' revenue was 8.338 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 106%; Tianfu Communication's revenue was 1.33 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 41%. The total single - quarter revenue of the three companies was close to 29.2 billion yuan, and the total net profit attributable to shareholders exceeded 9 billion yuan.
The strong demand has been directly reflected in the order books of Chinese manufacturers. Public information shows that the overseas orders of some leading manufacturers have been scheduled until 2027, and some customers are even starting to discuss the demand for 2028.
According to CCTV Financial Report, with the accelerated global construction of computing power infrastructure, since this year, the export of optical modules above 800G of some enterprises has increased by more than 100 times year - on - year.
From the perspective of the global market pattern, Chinese manufacturers have occupied a strong position in the optical module industry. In the TOP10 list of optical module suppliers released by LightCounting, more than half are Chinese manufacturers.
The formation of this pattern is first driven by the overseas demand for AI infrastructure. In the North American market, on the one hand, cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon AWS, Google, Meta, and Oracle are continuously expanding their AI data centers. On the other hand, AI system platform providers like NVIDIA are pushing GPU clusters, switches, network cards, and optical interconnection solutions to a higher density.
However, there is also an obvious change that there are more business people from Southeast Asia.
Many industry insiders from Southeast Asia mentioned that in the past two years, the frequency of Chinese optoelectronic enterprises visiting and deploying in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and other places has increased significantly. Enterprises in the fields of optical modules, optical communication, and optical fiber connectors are accelerating their expansion.
This change sends a signal: The overseas expansion of optical modules has entered a more specific stage of industrial chain implementation from a simple increase in overseas orders. Moreover, Southeast Asia is becoming an important stop for Chinese optical module enterprises to receive orders, build production capacity, and provide local services.
The picture is generated by an AI tool.
01
Optical Modules "Go South Overseas"
Optical module enterprises are collectively moving south.
In recent years, the optical communication industry cluster in Wuhan Optics Valley has been accelerating its overseas expansion. Represented by "Seven Stars in Optics Valley" enterprises such as Huagong Technology, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable, Accelink Technologies, and FiberHome Technologies, they are intensively promoting their layout in Southeast Asia.
Although North America is still the most concentrated market for high - end optical module demand on the demand side, which determines the foundation of this round of high - end optical module demand, the role of Southeast Asia is to help Chinese enterprises take over this round of demand.
For Chinese optical module enterprises, in addition to the manufacturing and price advantages of products, what they value most from overseas customers now is the ability of suppliers to deliver products continuously, stably, and in large quantities. Once there are problems in the supply chain leading to slow delivery, the subsequent assembly of AI servers and the launch rhythm of data centers may be delayed.
A Chinese entrepreneur in Vietnam said, "In the past few years, we have seen more and more Chinese electronic manufacturing and communication enterprises come here. People are not only looking at costs but also at the ability to take over production capacity, supporting facilities, and overseas delivery."
It is at this time that Southeast Asia has been pushed to the forefront and has become an important destination for domestic optical module enterprises to undertake overseas orders, disperse supply chain risks, and improve delivery capabilities.
02
Take Over the Production Capacity of Optical Modules
The selection of Southeast Asia is first related to the past transfer of the global electronic manufacturing chain.
In the past few years, Southeast Asia has taken over many manufacturing orders transferred from China and other regions. Enterprises have deployed in the local area for products ranging from mobile phone and computer parts to communication equipment and photovoltaic modules.
For optical module enterprises, building a factory in Southeast Asia is no longer about setting up a completely unfamiliar system from scratch. Instead, it is mainly about supplementing their own production capacity in an area with an existing electronic manufacturing foundation.
Another important point is that Southeast Asia is close enough to the Chinese supply chain.
A senior analyst said, "For optical module enterprises, the value of Southeast Asia is not only its low cost. Due to its proximity to the Chinese supply chain and the maturing electronic manufacturing foundation, enterprises can transfer some assembly, testing, and delivery links there while continuing to rely on domestic R & D, equipment, and upstream support. This can not only meet the requirements of overseas customers for diversified production locations but also not stretch the supply chain too far at once."
Although optical modules are small products, there are many related links behind them, including optical chips, lasers, PCBs, structural components, etc. Each link requires rapid coordination.
Especially for high - end products such as 800G and 1.6T in the optical module field, which are oriented towards AI data centers, there are high requirements for yield rate, stability, and delivery speed. In addition to where to build a factory, enterprises also need to consider whether the process support can keep up, whether the supply support can be connected, and whether the delivery rhythm will be prolonged.
Southeast Asia provides a more stable transition method: Core R & D and key processes still rely on the domestic market, while some manufacturing, testing, assembly, and delivery links are gradually extended outward. This can not only meet the requirements of overseas customers for diversified production locations but also reduce the uncertainty brought by completely long - distance management.
For Chinese optical module enterprises, Southeast Asia is becoming an intermediate node connecting North American orders, the Chinese supply chain, and the overseas delivery system.
03
It's All about the Delivery System
In recent years, many Southeast Asian countries have regarded electronic manufacturing, semiconductors, data centers, and digital infrastructure as strategic priorities.
Vietnam has released a semiconductor industry development strategy, aiming to develop design, manufacturing, packaging, and testing links by 2050; Malaysia has launched a national semiconductor strategy, planning to invest at least 25 billion ringgit in financial support; The Thailand Board of Investment disclosed that the investment application amount in 2024 reached 1.14 trillion Thai baht, hitting a ten - year high.
For Chinese optical module enterprises, the direct value of these policies is that Southeast Asia is not only a place where factories can be built. The local industrial parks, logistics, supporting enterprises, and customer demand are gradually emerging. It is much easier for enterprises to transfer part of their production and delivery there.
However, the transfer of optical module production capacity overseas does not mean that domestic capabilities will be replicated overseas. China is still the core competence base for Chinese optical module enterprises, undertaking R & D, process, supply chain coordination, and the ramp - up of high - end products; Southeast Asia is more like an overseas delivery node, mainly responsible for manufacturing, assembly, and shipping.
Thailand already has a mature overseas mass - production and delivery node. Taking the leading optical module enterprises "Yizhongtian" as an example, they have already started to make arrangements in Thailand. Zhongji Innolight is the earliest and most mature one in the layout. Its Thai factory can stably mass - produce high - end optical modules. In June 2025, Zhongji Innolight mentioned in an investor relations activity that the Thai factory had been "operating for many years", and its second - quarter shipments could fully meet the order requirements of North American customers.
New Photonics also disclosed in 2025 that the first and second phases of its Thai factory had been put into production, and the company would prepare production capacity according to customer demand and forecast orders to meet customer delivery requirements.
Malaysia's industrial role is closer to high - end electronic manufacturing and can handle complex manufacturing links of high - end optical modules. According to Reuters, Malaysia accounts for about 13% of the global semiconductor testing and packaging market and plans to attract at least 500 billion ringgit of semiconductor investment, focusing on IC design, advanced packaging, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The Malaysia Investment Development Authority also mentioned that Malaysia is the world's sixth - largest semiconductor exporter, controlling about 13% of the global semiconductor packaging, assembly, and testing market.
"There is already a foundation in semiconductor packaging and testing, electronic manufacturing services, and precision manufacturing here. Especially after optical modules enter the 800G and 1.6T stages, the requirements for packaging and testing, yield control, reliability verification, and process management are getting higher and higher. If enterprises want to transfer more complex manufacturing links overseas, markets like Malaysia are more likely to take them over," said an entrepreneur familiar with the optical module field. "For example, manufacturers such as Accelink Technologies and Huagong Zhengyuan have already deployed or are promoting relevant production capacity in Malaysia."
Vietnam also has a strong electronic manufacturing foundation. According to the data of 2025 sorted out by Vietnam Briefing, Vietnam's export value of "computers, electronic products, and parts" reached 107.748 billion US dollars, a year - on - year increase of 48.4%; Foreign - invested enterprises contributed about 98% of Vietnam's electronic exports.
It is close to the Chinese supply chain and connects to the ASEAN market. In the past, it has undertaken a large amount of consumer electronics and parts manufacturing. For optical module, optical communication, and optical fiber connector enterprises, the value of Vietnam lies in manufacturing support and supply chain coordination. Currently, manufacturers such as Universal Scientific Industrial are deploying some optical module manufacturing production lines in Vietnam.
In short, a new optical communication industry map is taking shape in Southeast Asia, becoming an important part of the overseas layout of Chinese optical communication enterprises. Next, what Chinese optical module enterprises really need to compete for is the delivery ability of overseas factories in the global market.
This article is from the WeChat official account "Tencent Technology", author: Li Hailun, editor: Xu Qingyang. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.