TOKYO (Dow Jones)–Japan’s Toshiba Corp. (J.TOS or 6502) said Monday it will invest 1 billion baht ($1=THB40.10) to expand its Thai production facilities for washing machines and refrigerators.
Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori said the new investment would help boost output capacity at Toshiba’s Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi factories on the outskirts of Bangkok, as the Japanese company aims to double its sales of washing machines and refrigerators in Asia excluding China and Japan in the next two years to Y40 billion.
But Toshiba denied a Bangkok Post report late last week that the Japanese company will move its Asia-Pacific headquarters to Thailand from Singapore.
“We don’t have any plan to move our regional headquarters to Thailand,” Ohmori said. Singapore has been Toshiba’s key marketing center for components such as semiconductors as well as audiovisual products. “That’s not going to change,” he said.
By the end of this year, Toshiba will boost its annual output capacity for two- and three-door refrigerators at Thai factories to 700,000 units annually from about 450,000, while increasing output of one-door refrigerators to 500,000 units annually from about 400,000, Toshiba said.
The company also plans to double its washing machine production in Thailand to 1 million units annually. These products are marketed in various countries in Asia, including Thailand, Toshiba said.
Toshiba expects its sales in Asia, ex-Japan and China, to grow 30% to Y20 billion from Y15 billion in 2002. Ohmori said the production boost in Thailand is aimed at helping lift sales in the region to Y40 billion in just two years.
With the Thai investment, Toshiba also plans to shift some of its marketing functions for washing machines and refrigerators to Thailand from Japan to better meet the needs of local customers, Ohmori added.
>From Yahoo, Singapore