Japans's Toray to enter Malaysia

Japans's Toray to enter Malaysia

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Toray Industries Inc. said it would build two manufacturing lines to make polyethylene (PET) film in Malaysia, establishing a production and marketing base for Asia.

Toray said in a statement the first production line for industrial thick film products would come on stream at its wholly-owned Penfibre Sdn. Bhd. in August 1998 with annual capacity of 14,400 tons.

A second line with capacity of 15,600 tons for packaging and industrial thin film products would be commissioned in May 1999. Total investment would be 20 billion yen (US$185 million), it said.

Toray said PET film producers have been actively expanding production facilities in Southeast Asia and Chinese markets over recent years to meet increasing demand for thick film for electric and electrical products and thin film for packaging.

Toray is the world's largest PET film manufacturer and supplier, producing 87,600 tons a year in Japan, 20,000 tons in the United States and 30,000 tons in Europe.