German-US auto giant Daimler-Chrysler will invest up to 100 million euros (US$116 million) in Southeast Asia over the next two years to strengthen its presence and triple sales in 10 years, a top official says.
With a market of 530 million people, low vehicle penetration and a young age structure, ASEAN's auto market offers vast potential, said Frank Messer, president and chief executive for DaimlerChrysler in the region.
In an interview on the sidelines of an ASEAN business summit here, Messer said the company expects sales next year to grow around 10 percent to 15 percent to 35,000 units.
But this is still low in ASEAN's booming auto market where some 1.5 million vehicles were sold last year, he said.
DaimlerChrysler's sales in the region hit a billion euros last year.
Messer said the company had invested 100 million euros in the region over the past two years, employing 2,000 workers in its manufacturing and assembling facilities in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
"There is no fixed sum but we will invest between 50 million and 100 million euros again for the next two years," Messer said.
"We have made a lot of efforts in the last year to increase our presence and penetration in this region. I believe that in the next 10 years, we will triple our sales here," he said.
DaimlerChrysler and other foreign automakers such as Honda Motor and BMW have begun phasing out franchises to cut out middlemen and boost their direct presence in the region, to benefit from lower import tariffs under the ASEAN Free-Trade Area (AFTA).
Tariffs on imported cars in Southeast Asia fell below 5 percent in January under AFTA, except for Malaysia, which has obtained a reprieve for its auto industry until 2005.
Messer said AFTA would greatly boost efficiency in the industry, drive up sales and increase economies-of-scale.
But he said implementation flaws, the absence of a common product standard and custom procedures under AFTA were making it tough for foreign carmakers to plan their long-term production strategy.
Messer said Thailand has emerged as a favorite hub for many foreign carmakers because of its efficient supply chain, strong gov-ernment support and liberalized market rules. But in the mid-term, he said, Malaysia will be a "very important market to consider" as well as Indonesia.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique