Toyota to expand plants in RP

Toyota to expand plants in RP

MANILA: Toyota Motor Corp., the world's second-biggest carmaker by
production, plans to spend 7 billion pesos (US$124 million) in
the next two years to expand its facility in the Philippines.

Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman at Toyota Motor, said the
investment will help unit Toyota Autoparts Philippines Inc. meet
higher overseas demand for the transmission assemblies and
constant velocity joints that it makes.

Toyoda was speaking on the sidelines of an event at Toyota
Autoparts' plant outside Manila to mark the start of shipments of
transmission assemblies to Japan, expanding its export markets
which include Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Malaysia,
Vietnam, India, and Pakistan. Its constant velocity joints are
exported to Thailand, Taiwan and Japan.

Toyota had invested 15 billion pesos in the Philippines as of
the end of 2003. -- Bloomberg