BIC to set up Malaysian plant

BIC to set up Malaysian plant

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Societe BIC (F.SBI), the French ballpoint pen giant is to invest $10.5 million in a new Malaysian plant by 2001 to produce pens for the Asian market, a news report said Friday.

The company, which says it is the world's biggest producer of ballpoint pens, will sell the pens produced in its Penang-based plant in Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and China, as well as in Malaysia.

BIC Asia's Managing Director Jean-Yves Malcuit told the national news agency Bernama that the new plant will be able to produce 250,000 pens in a 24-hour day.

The first $4.47 million of the $10.5 million total investment has been used to build the factory.

The plant is BIC's only production facility in Asia. It has 34 other plants worldwide, said Malcuit.