Feb 10, 2010, 3:56 GMT
Bangkok - US-based Hutchinson Technology Inc, one of the world's top three suppliers of hard-disk drives, has invested 4.3 billion baht (130 million dollars) in Thailand to open its first factory outside the United States, media reports said Wednesday.
Hutchinson president Kathleen Skarvan said the company chose Thailand to stay close to its clients, many of whom have production facilities in the kingdom, the Bangkok Post reported.
Construction on the new plant in Ayutthaya province, 90 kilometres north of Bangkok, was scheduled to be completed by August with exports beginning before the end of the year.
Thailand is one of the world's leading producers of hard-disk drives and other electronics. In 2009, Thailand's electronics exports amounted to 27 billion dollars, or 18 per cent of the country's total exports of 152.5 billion dollars.
Other major electronics suppliers that have set up factories in Thailand include NHK International Inc, Magnecomp Corp, Seagate Technology, Western Digital Corp, Toshiba Corp and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.
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