The latecomer industrialization thesis has acted as a powerful instrument in promoting industrialization. However, there is little explanation in the literature as to why some economies that attempted to industrialize are facing premature de-industrialization. This chapter provides an assessment of industrialization in the South East Asian market economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, examining policies that spurred either strong or little technological upgrading. Driven by an agile state, Singapore managed to become a developed economy through strong industrial upgrading. Malaysia launched upgrading policies, while Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand introduced ad hoc strategies to support technological upgrading. Foreign transnational corporations have played a major role in stimulating manufacturing expansion in these economies. However, while all five countries have begun to experience de-industrialization, Singapore’s de-industrialization has been accompanied by strong technological upgrading, while the remaining four countries remain stuck in the middle-income trap owing to a lack of technological upgrading.