The Thai government is currently seeking foreign companies to invest in it Rubber City located in Southern Region Industrial Estate of Hatyai, 946 km south of Bangkok.
Investors can start reserving land through the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IET) starting February. The government hopes that infrastructure incentives and assistance will attract investors.
The City will focus on midstream and downstream industries to produce as tyres, rubber gloves and compound rubber.
When completed, Rubber City is expected to bring in US$10 billion worth of investments and increase the amount of rubber the country processes. At present, Thailand only processes 10% of its natural rubber, leaving the rest for export. Rubber City will help the numbers increase to 15% or 30% later on.
“With weak demand from outside the country, we need to create demand in the country. The only way is to process rubber and create new products, which is something new to the Thais,” says Thai ambassador to Malaysia Damrong Kraikruan to The Star.
“Right now, Michelin has already started their works in Rubber City,” he says, adding that land prices in the estate start from RM180,000 per half-acre, with rents starting from RM7,000 for half-acre. Chinese investors have also expressed interest.