Ford secures B15.5bn for Rayong plant
Published: 5/07/2011 at 12:00 AM
Bangkok Post: Newspaper section: Business
Ford Motor Co has secured 15.5 billion baht in local loans to support the development of its new passenger car manufacturing plant in Rayong.
The funding will come from Bangkok Bank, Tisco Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Thailand.
"This financing agreement plays a key role in fulfilling our One Ford global strategy," said Peter Fleet, the president of Ford Asean.
Ford plans to introduce eight new One Ford global vehicles in Asean over the next five years.
With an initial capacity of 150,000 units per year, the Rayong facility will start building the new Ford Focus next year for sale in Thailand.
About 85% of cars produced at the facility will be sold overseas and the rest in Thailand.
Ford said the plant was expected to create up to 11,000 new jobs, including 2,200 directly from Ford and 8,800 indirectly through its local supplier and dealer networks.
The automaker also said it planned annual purchases of about US$800 million or 24 billion baht worth of components through the local supply chain.
The new facility, costing $450 million or 15 billion baht, is nearly complete. Ford is busy hiring and training employees for production and maintenance ahead of the start of operations.
Ford has invested 72 billion baht in Thailand since 1995.
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