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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 19 (Bernama) — Thailand has approved a 13.5 billion baht (US$400 million) investment by Haier Appliance Manufacture (Thailand) Co Ltd to establish a factory that will produce six million smart air conditioners annually.
In a statement Thursday, the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) announced it had approved an investment promotion application from Haier Appliance Manufacture (Thailand) Co Ltd, a unit of China’s Haier Smart Home Co, Ltd to set up a factory in Thailand’s eastern Chonburi province.
BOI said the factory will employ 3,250 people and have a production capacity of approximately 3 million smart air conditioners and 3 million smart split air conditioners.
Secretary General of the BOI, Narit Therdsteerasukdi, said the project demonstrates Thailand’s attractiveness as a hub for the manufacturing of smart electrical appliances and electronics by major global companies.
“This factory will sell around 85 per cent of its output in overseas markets, which is expected to boost Thai exports by an estimated 32 billion baht annually,” he said in a statement.
BOI said the investment, including the cost of land and working capital, is made through Haier’s Singapore unit.
Smart air conditioners feature embedded operating systems and electronic components that can detect and receive information and can be remotely controlled via mobile phones.
Meanwhile, the BOI reported that it has approved smart electronics manufacturing projects worth a combined 82.2 billion baht from January 2023 to June this year. These projects involve companies such as Samsung, Midea, Inventec, and Sony.
During the same 18-month period, an additional 16.4 billion baht worth of projects were approved for the manufacturing of other types of electrical appliances and parts.
From January to June 2024, China is Thailand’s second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by value, following Singapore, with 321 project applications totalling 72.9 billion baht.
The investments were primarily driven by the automotive, appliance, and electronics sectors.