Xiamen Golden Egret Special Alloy Co (GESAC), a Chinese tungsten and cemented carbide maker, has chosen Thailand as the location for its first production facility outside of China with an investment of 2.5 billion baht.
GESAC signed agreements to buy and lease land plots with WHA Industrial Development Co (WHA ID) to build a plant at WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 1.
Under the agreements, GESAC is buying 56 rai and leasing for three years a ready-built factory of 4,700 square metres, both in Pluak Daeng district, Rayong province.
GESAC has a local subsidiary, Golden Egret Cement Carbide Thailand Co, to operate the new facility to produce cemented carbide at 800 tonnes a year in the first phase, which is expected to start this year.
The second phase will have a production capacity of 1,500 tonnes a year with a construction plan in the future, said Jiang Tao, general manager of Golden Egret Cement Carbide Thailand.
David Nardone, group executive for industrial and international at WHA ID, said Thailand is a promising destination for Chinese firms and WHA plans to strengthen its facilities in 10 industrial estates with excellent infrastructure and utilities to support investment flows from China.
In related news, WHA transferred land plots totalling 600 rai during the first half of 2019.
Total revenue and profit-sharing for the period totalled 6.88 billion and 1.46 billion baht, up 26% and 35% respectively.
Jareeporn Jarukornsakul, chairman and chief executive of WHA Corporation, said the business will continue to grow in the second half of the year from the many sales contracts of industrial land in the pipeline, spurred by the US-China trade war and development of the Eastern Economic Corridor scheme.
Moreover, WHA has warehouse rental contracts for 250,000 sq m to be signed in the second half, thanks to the rapid growth of e-commerce and the high season of industrial estate business.