Apparel manufacturer Makalot Industrial Co (聚陽實業) yesterday said it would tailor its production capacity in Vietnam to the outcome of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ratification process.
“We have been closely watching the US presidential election, as the result might affect the progress of TPP,” a Makalot investor relations official said by telephone.
The US market accounted for nearly 80 percent of the company’s revenue last year, with major US customers including Gap Inc, Kohl’s Corp and Target Corp.
The TPP is the key factor in determining Makalot’s overseas production plans, the official said, adding that the Vietnamese plant is the most important production base for the company.
Makalot’s Vietnam plant accounted for 33 percent of its total output last year, with an annual capacity of 4.17 million dozens of units, the official said, adding that apparel exports from Vietnam to other TPP member countries are to be tariff-free when the agreement takes effect.
US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, have said they oppose the deal, arguing that it will hurt US workers.
While Makalot aims to raise the capacity of its Vietnam plant over the long term, the details rely on the substance of the TPP, the official said.
The company has expanded its capacity since 2000 in Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and the Philippines, given rising labor costs in China.
The official said Makalot also hopes to raise sales contributions from its sportswear products.
“We hope to increase the revenue contribution [of sportswear] from last year’s 20 percent to 25 percent,” he said.
Makalot shares closed unchanged at NT$147 yesterday on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, with the benchmark TAIEX yesterday closing 0.15 percent lower at 8,987.55 points.
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