Yokogawa hopes to double turnover in SE Asia

Yokogawa hopes to double turnover in SE Asia

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Yokogawa Electric Corp said yesterday it expected to double its turnover in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries over the next two years to Singapore S$400 million.

T.N. Somasundaram, senior director of Yokogawa Engineering Asia Pte Ltd, a division of Yokogawa Electric Corp, told a news conference the company would increase the value of its manufacturing output to around S$220 million in Singapore.

The company makes computer control systems for factories and refineries and its manufacturing in nearby Batam, in Indonesia, would also rise, he added.

Somasundaram said the company would raise its total business spending to S$50 million a year by 2000 to expand its sales, engineering and service operations from Singapore into the region.

"We are aiming to double our sales in two years," he said.

Managing director Tony Lee said Yokogawa Engineering Asia had been awarded Business Headquarters status by Singapore's Economic Development Board, which gives it significant tax incentives to increase its business in the country.

This scheme an let companies reduce their corporate tax rates by as much as 50 percent from the normal level of 26 percent, although the actual rate varies from company to company.

Yokogawa officials declined to be more specific.