Honda chairman sees growth potential In Southeast Asia
Honda chairman sees growth potential In Southeast Asia
BANGKOK (Dow Jones): Honda Motor Co.'s (HMC or 7267) chairman
said Wednesday the company plans to pump more resources into
Southeast Asia to meet new demand as the region's economies
recover.
"The economy of Thailand is on the recovery path, as are
economies of other Asean markets," Yoshihide Munekuni told
reporters.
"Honda will try to invest more to adjust our business strategy
to meet with the economic recovery in ASEAN," he said, adding the
company planned to launch more new products and search for new
markets.
Later Wednesday, Munekuni will meet with other chief
executives from international companies and government ministers
at a business forum.
The event aims to promote the Board of Investment's trade fair
which will showcase Thai products and investment opportunities.
The fair runs from Thursday until Feb. 17.
Asian Honda Motor Co., the Japanese car maker's Bangkok-based
regional production center, expects Thailand's passenger car
market to grow at least 20 percent on year in 2000, said the
unit's president, Satoshi Toshida.
Honda will increase the production of passenger cars this year
from its Thai facilities to meet the new demand, he added.
Last year, the company produced at half of its full 60,000
units per year capacity, running on only one working shift.
"This year we will increase our production capacity from one
working shift last year to two shifts," Toshida said, adding that
this would allow full capacity production if demand continues to
grow.
Thailand's motorcycle market should grow by around 15 percent
to 20 percent this year, he added. Honda hopes to increase its
production of motorcycles from 600,000 units in 1999 to closer to
its full capacity of 1 million this year.
The Japanese car manufacturer also plans to increase exports
from its Thai operations, through looking for new markets,
Toshida said.
Currently, Honda exports about 30 percent of its total
production to around 50 countries, earning the company 17 billion
baht last year. Australia is the main export market for passenger
cars, while motorcycles go mainly to other Asean countries.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN,
comprises Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei,
Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and the Philippines.
Honda employs 6,000 people in Thailand, where it had the
second largest share of the domestic passenger car market last
year, accounting for 30 percent of total sales. Toyota Motor
Corp. had a 36 percent share of local sales.
In terms of the overall vehicle sales in Thailand, Honda is
the third largest after Toyota and Isuzu Motors Ltd. (J.IZM)
because it doesn't produce one-ton pick up trucks which sell well
in rural Thailand.