A Japanese pharmaceutical company will join with a Thai partner to invest up to 900 million baht in Thailand as a production base for saline solution and nutraceutical products, says Shinsuke Yuasa, president of Thai Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co.
The joint venture will bring together a Thai investor, to be named later, and Japanese medical equipment giant Otsuka Holding Group, which has 176 subsidiaries worldwide.
Founded in Japan in 1964, Otsuka Holding Group is a producer and distributor of pharmaceuticals, clinical testing and medical equipment, food products, cosmetics and other products, Mr Yuasa said.
"The company supplies 40% of the saline solution in Thailand and also ranks among the top three medical equipment and pharmaceutical producers, and provides nutraceutical products to several hospitals in Thailand and other countries in the region," he said.
The company also wants to use Thailand as a production base to serve other countries, such as India, China, the Middle East and Asean member countries.
In light of Thailand's investment expansion, Mr Yuasa expects the proportion of sales from exports to rise to 30% over the next few years, up from 15% now.
"It is because the Thai government has issued policies and privileges to attract investors," Mr Yuasa said.
He said his company has been investing in Thailand since 2014, when they invested 625 million baht to construct a factory in Samut Sakhon to cater to the dietary needs of patients who have diabetes and cancer.
Currently, the company has an annual capacity of 3,000 tonnes of nutraceutical food.
He said the factory in Samut Sakhon would contribute approximately 300 million baht in sales, with the expectation of reaching one billion baht over the next five years.
The company's averages sales revenue of two billion baht annually, he added.
Industry Minister Atchaka Sibunruang said Thailand has a clear policy to promote investment, especially new generation industries, including medical and medical equipment as well as Food Innopolis, a hub where the government is promoting research and development for food innovation.
"Japan is one of the targeted countries from where we want to invite investors to Thailand," she said.
The government expects the value of new investment applications to reach 550 billion baht, due to the increase in investment stimuli and the Eastern Economic Corridor.