Samsung To Invest Bt4bn In Thailand

[george]

Samsung has Bt4bn plan to up market share

BANGKOK: -- Thai Samsung Electronics will invest around Bt4 billion to increase proฌduction capacity and research and development next year to boost its share in the segments in which the brand is not a market leader.

Deputy managing director Arnut Changtrakul yesterday said the Board of Investment (BoI) had proฌmoted Thai Samsung's investment.

The investment of Bt4 billion will cover R&D, new machines and new mole to develop new innovative products and increase production capacity for four products - refrigerators, frontloaded washing machines, airconditioners and TV monitors at the existing plants at Sriracha, Chonburi province.

The investment could help create 500 to 1,000 jobs next year. Currently it employs 5,000 people.

Samsung's Sriracha plant is a major production base for Samsung electronics products such as LED TV, LCD TV, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and microwave ovens.

Of the total production at the Sriracha plant, about 30 per cent goes to the domestic market and the rest are exported to Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The segments in which Thai Samsung is not the market leader are refrigerators, frontloaded washฌing machines, airconditioners, notebooks, digital cameras and mobile phones. However, Samsung expects to emerge as market leader in the mobilephone market by the yearend.

Samsung will be the first interฌnational brand to do TV mobile phones, starting next year.

Samsung ranks third and fourth in refrigerator, front loaded washing machines, air conditioner, notebook and digital camera.

Arnut said the company's goal next year is to boost shares in those segments or at least go up by one rank. aMoreover, Samsung has to secure the position in the top tier in all segments.

Samsung is currently the market leader in LED TV, LCD TV, PDP TV, Slim TV, sidebyside refrigerator and LCD monitor.

He said Samsung next year will focus more on the segment that the brand does not market leaders.

"We have five keys to success: new technology, value for money, potenฌtial distribution, brand creation and aftersales services," he said.

He said the focus on products in which Samsung is not the market leader will also boost domestic revenue next year. Thai Samsung is targeting domestic sales worth $1.5 bilฌlion (Bt50.1 billion) compared to expected sales of $1 billion this year.

"We expect our sales to increase next year because of the positive signs of the global economic recovฌery. Moreover, Thai consumer conฌfidence index in the fourth quarter this year is likely to be positive at 1.5 per cent from negative earlier this year.

Thai Samsung expects the consumer confidence index to continue improving to 34 per cent in the first quarter next year," said Arnut.

The US gross domestic product is expected to grow by 3.5 per cent next year. This is a positive sign for the export market as well, Arnut said.

The company is targeting exports of $1.6 billion next year from the expected $1.3 billion this year.

-- The Nation 2009-11-03