Incentives
• Exemption from import duties on machinery, regardless of zone
• Exemption from corporate income tax for 3 years, regardless of zone. The benefit from this exemption may not exceed 100% of the project’s investment value.
Industry overview
Thailand ‘s machinery and metalworking industries currently employ a labor force of around 400,000 people and are comprised of approximately 50,000 enterprises. By machinery and parts currently rank in Thailand’s top 5 most imported goods with US$ 12.57 billion worth imported in 2009 and Electrical machines and apparatus with individual functions (HS 8543) were the leading products with US$ 9.78 million imported in 2009. This is opportunities for suppliers to capitalize on this growing demand for more sophisticated machinery.
Additional, Thailand’s status as a regional export hub allows local machinery and parts suppliers which exports have grown by 90% since 2004 to over US$ 8 billion a year as a result of rapid development in the region coupled with favorable trade relations after the singing of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) which make trend of export growth continue as demand from developing nations such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. On the part of automotive and E&E industries is expected to fuel demand for modern machine tools by in 2009, the top three exported categories of machine tools were parts and accessories for machines i.e. machine tools for removal of material and lathes for removing metal.
From growing demand, Thailand’s market for computer numerical controlled (cnc) machine tools remains heavily dependent on imports, half of which come from Japan and metalworking industry is keen to source more of these sophisticated machine tools domestically.
Thailand’s world class downstream manufacturing industries have boosted imports of industrial machinery, while the industrial machinery industry itself has rapidly developed as an exporter. In five years leading up to 2009, Thailand’s exports of industrial machinery more than
doubled to level of US$ 7.7 billion. The main exports of industrial machinery were printing machinery, refrigerating & freezing equipment, air or vacuum pumps, gas compressors and fans.
Moreover, Moulds and Dies are essential inputs for downstream manufacturing. The prospects for the mould and die industry are just bright. The Mould and die Industry Development Project aims to reduce dependence on imports more than 3% and increase the value of exports about 5% by creating added value for the industry. According to a Thai and Die Industry Associate (TDIA) survey, approximately 1,061 mould and die factories in Thailand. Of these factories, 90% product moulds and dies for plastic and metal, while rest produce for rubber, glass and ceramic. A majority of moulds and dies are utilized by Thailand’s automotive and E&E industries. Which plastic moulds widely used by the auto and E&E makers and the packaging industry. The automotive industry is expected to expand output of vehicles and accordingly die casting used in manufacturing of such item as engine blocks, crank shafts, front cases, oil pans, gear boxes and auto safety parts present particularly attractive opportunities. Local mould and die manufacturers are only partly able to meet the increasingly sophisticated demands of Thailand’s downstream industries, leaving a significant opportunity in the market to higher quality mould and die imports from foreign manufacturers. Japan is the source of around half of the total mould and die imports, with china a distant second followed by Taiwan and korea which this is investment opportunity in Thailand’s mould and die industry by growing of downstream sector and a supportive government.
The Thai government has initiated the mould and dies industry development project for 2010-2014. This project supports 20 industry related educational institutes and has invested in
the expansion of 225 mould factories together with aim to establishing 5 mould excellence centers with public and private funding. One of the many functions of the excellence centers is to train mould technicians which since the opening of centers 4,426 technicians have been successfully trained. The project also aims to raise production standards to make Thailand more competitive in world market both by enhancing technical understanding and improving procedures and management and since the project began, 39 enterprises have received ISO 9001: 2000 certification and 81 enterprises have developed programs for compliance with ISO 9001: 2000 standards.
By, major Mould & Die Clusters in Thailand (MDCT) most members are located around Bangkok, Samut prakarn, Chachoensao and Rayong, Thai Mould and Parts Cluster (TMPC) most members are located around Bangkok, Samut songkram and Samut sakorn, Thai Mould and Die Industry Association (TMDA) most members are located around Bangkok and Nano Global Precision Cluster (NGPC) most members are located around Bangkok, Phathumtani and Ayutthaya.
