KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 (Bernama) — Thailand aims to attract US$10 billion (US$1=RM4.29) in investments to its “Rubber City” located at the Southern Region Industrial Estate in Songkhla’s Hatyai district, Thai Ambassador to Malaysia, Damrong Kraikuan said.
He said the Rubber City which focuses mainly on the midstream and downstream industry is intended to be an integrated centre of production for rubber processing, such as tyres, rubber gloves and compound rubber.
The newly established production site is located some 16 kilometers from the Hatyai International Airport, 45 km from Songkhla’s deep sea port and about 80 km from the Malaysian border.
In the initial phase, the total area set aside for the Rubber City will cover some 125 hectares, Damrong told a media briefing here today.
“Our focus now is to value add to the raw products we produce,” he said, adding, Thailand had an annual output of 4.1 million tonnes of natural rubber and only 1.4 million tonnes was used domestically.
Thailand is the world’s biggest rubber exporter followed by Indonesia and Malaysia. The natural rubber price in Thailand has dropped from a record high of 120 baht a kilogramme in 2011 to 37 baht now.
He said the new initiative would help increase domestic consumption of rubber amid slow demand from major economies, while at the same time, help increase rubber prices.
“We would like to encourage potential investors to cooperate with related sectors including agriculture and academic institutions, laboratories as well as business associations to facilitate and create additional value for them,” he said.
Damrong said investors would be allowed among others to own land in the industrial estate, bring in foreign expertise and exempted from corporate income tax on dividends for up to eight years.
— BERNAMA
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