Suzuki to build new plant in Myanmar
Suzuki Thilawa Motor Co Ltd, Suzuki Motor Corp’s subsidiary for assembly and sales of automobiles in Myanmar, will construct a new automobile plant that will conduct welding, painting, and assembly of automobiles, Suzuki Motor announced on Monday.
Suzuki Thilawa is currently assembling vehicles from semi knocked down (SKD) kits where partially assembled parts of a product are put together.
The Japanese automaker says it plans to upgrade its operations in Myanmar to assembling completely knocked down (CKD) vehicles from completely non-assembled parts.
Suzuki says the work will involve painting, welding and final assembly of vehicles, which is why the new facility is required.
The company will spend an estimated ¥12 billion (K150 trillion) to build the facility which is expected to start operations by September next year. The plant, which will also be located in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone southeast of Yangon, is projected to have an annual production capacity of 40,000 units.
With the construction of the new plant, Suzuki says it will be better placed to meet the growing needs of the automobile market in Myanmar.
Suzuki has a long history in Myanmar, dating back to 1998 with the establishment of a local joint venture that started production of motorcycles and automobiles in 1999.The company currently has two plants in Myanmar sited in the South Dagon Industrial Zone and Thilawa Special Economic Zone that produce four models – the Carry small truck, Ciaz compact sedan, Ertiga MPV, and Swift subcomnpact.
Overall Myanmar’s trade volumes rise despite virus pandemic
AUNG LOON 19 MAR 2020
Mar Naw/The Myanmar Times
Myanmar’s trade volumes have risen in the current fiscal year 2019-20 despite the conronavirus pandemic sweeping the world, the Ministry of Commerce announced.
The ministry’s figures indicate that Myanmar’s trade volume rose by some US$2.7 billion (K3.76 trillion) so far this year compared with the same period last year.
“The country’s exports including via border trading up to March 6 totalled US$8 billion and imports US$9 billion. Imports increased by US$1.2 billion and exports US$1.5 billion for compared to the same period last year, indicating that trading increased overall despite the pandemic,” said Ministry of Commerce Director General U Min Min.
He added that goods are again flowing across the border with China at the Muse border trade area, with volumes reaching US$8 to US$10 million a day.
“In the past, the volume was not even close to US$1 million. The number of trucks used to fewer than 100 back then, but now, it has increased to 1,000 vehicles coming and going across the country. On March 13, there were 600 trucks leaving and 500 trucks entering the country,” U Min Min said.
However, he said that exports of fisheries products, especially live crabs and lobsters sent overseas by air, remained lower than before. Exports of cattle were also lower than in the same period a year ago while corn exports to Thailand were hit by currency fluctuations.