KANCHANABURI : SCG Paper, a wholly-owned unit of Siam Cement Group (SCG), set a budget of 13 billion baht this year and next in part to set up manufacturing bases in Indonesia and Myanmar.
Sumet Tantivejkul, secretary-general of the Chaipattana Foundation, and Tarisa Watanagase (right), a former central bank governor, release fish for the Chukkadon community in Kanchanaburi. The SCG Paper Open House programme promotes sustainability. PORNPROM SATRABHAYA
With continued expansions, the company projects total revenue will increase by 7-8% to top 60 billion baht this year, said president Roongrote Rangsiyopash.
Ongoing projects include expanding the capacity of its plants in Ratchaburi and Kanchanaburi with total investment of 7 billion baht. The expansion will be completed early next year.
Some 2 billion will go to SCG's joint venture with Japan's Nippon Paper Industries, with ownership divided at 45% and 55%, respectively. The new plant in Ban Pong, Ratchaburi, is scheduled to be operational in the second quarter of this year for the production of Machine Glazed, a high value-added product for food containers and the medical industry.
Another 700 million baht has been allocated for the expansion of its paper plant in Vietnam from 220,000 tonnes to 250,000 tonnes by this August, while 400 million baht is for manufacturing dissolving pulp, the main raw material in producing rayon fibre for the fibre and textile industries.
In addition to Thailand and Vietnam, SCG Paper set up manufacturing facilities in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. It is in talks to acquire a manufacturing facility in Indonesia, which is expected to be completed by mid-2014, said Mr Roongrote.
"We are looking at investment opportunities in both paper and boxes in Indonesia," he said, but declined to reveal the size of the investments.
The company is also studying investment opportunities in Myanmar for a year, where regulations are being reviewed to facilitate foreign investments.
"Once the rules become clearer by the middle of this year, a definitive investment plan will be designed for Myanmar, starting with a small capacity," he added.
He said the group laid out clear strategies for the paper and pulp businesses, which have been affected by digital communications. SCG Paper will continue to develop high value-added products to find new market segments.
In the packaging sector, capacity will continue to expand as new investments, mainly in automobiles and parts as well as export-oriented industries such as food and frozen foods, remain on the rise, said Mr Roongrote.
"The upcoming Asean Economic Community will allow freer flows of products, and this will also drive packaging demand," he said.