Vietnam is not the only manufacturing base worth considering, and a buyer who has only ever sourced there often does not know where to start looking in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines or Taiwan. The starting points are more accessible than they look: each of these places runs a government trade promotion body with a public exporter or manufacturer directory, and a public business registry that can confirm a company actually exists before you go further.
💬 Looking for a factory in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines or Taiwan? We shortlist, check the registry and arrange the visit as part of sourcing from across Asia. Tell us what you need to source.
Start with the government trade promotion agency, not a search engine
Each of these markets has a national trade promotion agency that publishes a directory of registered exporters or manufacturers — a more reliable starting list than an open web search, because listing usually requires the company to already be a formally registered exporter.
| Country | Trade promotion agency | What it publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce | Supplier lists and product-class information for foreign buyers |
| Malaysia | Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) | Malaysia Products Directory of registered exporters, manufacturers, contract manufacturers and traders |
| Philippines | Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), under the Department of Trade and Industry | Export promotion and buyer-facing trade platforms |
| Taiwan | Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) | A global network supporting Taiwanese exporters, and the Taiwantrade platform |
These directories are a starting shortlist, not a guarantee — being listed confirms the company registered with the trade agency as an exporter, not that it is the right fit for a specific specification. Treat the listing as the first filter, then verify further.
Checked against these agencies’ own published pages on 25 September 2026.
Confirm the company actually exists: registry checks by country
Before going further with any factory, check its registration against the country’s own official company registry — not a third-party listing site — to confirm it is a real, currently registered entity.
Each of these markets runs its own official registry, and each is checked differently:
| Country | Registry | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Department of Business Development (DBD), Ministry of Commerce | DBD’s own registration system (DBD Biz Regist replaced the earlier e-Registration system from 1 July 2025) |
| Malaysia | Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM), the Companies Commission of Malaysia | SSM e-Info, the official portal for searching and purchasing registered company information |
| Indonesia | Online Single Submission (OSS) system, and the AHU (Directorate General of General Legal Administration) business entity registry | OSS and AHU’s own online portals |
| Philippines | Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) | SEC’s own company or business-name search, by name or registration number |
| Taiwan | Ministry of Economic Affairs, Government Company Information System (GCIS) | GCIS public inquiry system, searchable by company name or unified business number |
A registry check confirms the company is legally registered, its registration status, and basic corporate details. It does not confirm manufacturing capability, quality standard, or capacity — that still requires direct contact and, ultimately, a visit.
Checked against these registries’ own published guidance on 25 September 2026. Confirm the current portal name and access method before relying on it, since several of these systems have moved to newer platforms recently (Thailand’s registry system, for one, changed in 2025).
Where the registry portal is only in the local language, a name search on a company written in Latin script can also miss a legitimate match recorded under a different transliteration — ask the supplier for the exact registered name in the local script, not only the English trading name on its business card, before concluding a search came back empty.
💬 Found a factory through a directory and want its registration checked before you go further? We run this check as a standard first step. Send us the company details.
What a registry check tells you, and what it does not
A clean registry result rules out a company that does not legally exist or is registered under different details than it claims — it does not rule out a company that is registered but cannot actually make what you need.
| Registry check confirms | Registry check does not confirm |
|---|---|
| The company is legally registered and its status (active, dissolved, etc.) | Manufacturing capability or capacity |
| Basic corporate details (registered address, sometimes directors) | Quality standard or certifications |
| Whether the company name matches what was represented to you | Whether the factory itself, versus a trading intermediary, is who you are actually dealing with |
That last point matters in every one of these markets: a company can be a genuine, currently registered entity and still be a trading company or agent rather than the factory itself. Ask directly, and where it matters, ask to see the factory rather than only an office address.
The visit: what a directory and a registry check cannot replace
A site visit is the step that confirms what a directory listing and a registry check cannot — that the factory has the equipment, the space and the process to make what you are ordering.
Where travel to all five markets for every prospective supplier is not realistic, prioritise a visit for:
- The supplier likely to carry the largest share of your order value.
- Any supplier whose registry check raised a question — an address that does not match the factory location claimed, or a very recent registration date for a company presenting years of manufacturing history.
- The first order with any new supplier, before committing to a larger repeat volume.
| Step | What it establishes |
|---|---|
| Trade agency directory | A shortlist of formally registered exporters |
| Registry check | The company legally exists and its basic details are accurate |
| Site visit | The factory can actually produce what you are ordering |
Where a visit genuinely cannot happen before a first order — distance, timing, or the order size not yet justifying the trip — a video call walkthrough of the actual production floor, not a showroom or office, is a reasonable interim step. It does not replace an in-person visit for a supplier that will carry meaningful volume, but it is a real improvement over relying on photographs the supplier chose to send.
Putting the process together
Work through these in order, rather than skipping to a visit on the strength of a directory listing alone.
- Search the relevant trade promotion agency’s directory for your product category.
- Check each candidate against the country’s official business registry.
- Ask directly whether you are dealing with the manufacturing factory or an intermediary.
- Prioritise a site visit for the largest supplier, any supplier that raised a registry question, and any first-time order.
- Compare the shortlist on the same terms before placing an order — see our note on comparing supplier quotations for how to make quotations from different suppliers genuinely comparable.
Once suppliers across more than one of these markets are confirmed, see our note on consolidating shipments from several Asian suppliers into one shipment for bringing the orders together efficiently.
💬 Ready to find and check factories in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines or Taiwan? Contact us about sourcing from Asia.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is a listing in a government trade directory a guarantee of quality?
No. It confirms the company registered with the trade agency as an exporter or manufacturer. It is a useful starting shortlist, not a quality guarantee — verification still requires a registry check and, for a serious order, a visit.
2. How do I check if a Thai or Malaysian company is really registered?
Thailand’s Department of Business Development and Malaysia’s SSM (Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia) both run official registry portals where a company’s registration status can be checked directly.
3. Can a registry check tell me if a company is a factory or just a trading agent?
Not reliably. The registry confirms legal registration and basic details, not the nature of the company’s actual operations. Ask directly, and confirm with a visit where the order size justifies it.
4. Do I need to visit every supplier in person?
Not necessarily every one, but prioritise a visit for your largest supplier by order value, any supplier whose registry details raised a question, and any first order with a new supplier.
5. Which agency should I check first for a Taiwanese supplier?
TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) for a shortlist of exporters, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Government Company Information System (GCIS) to confirm the company’s registration.
Sources: MATRADE, Malaysia Products Directory; Thailand DITP official site; Philippines DTI-CITEM and Tradeline Portal; TAITRA official site; Baker McKenzie, “Thailand: DBD Biz Regist Launches on 1 July 2025”; SSM e-Info official portal; Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs, Government Company Information System (GCIS). Checked on 25 September 2026.