BANGKOK, June 24, 2010 (AFP) - US carmaker Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it would spend 450 million dollars to build a new plant in Thailand, giving a much-needed boost to an economy reeling from deadly political unrest.
Ford said the factory in Rayong, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) southeast of Bangkok, would employ up to 2,200 workers with production scheduled to begin in 2012, starting with the next-generation Ford Focus.
It will have an initial output capacity of 150,000 vehicles a year, mostly for export, boosting Thailand's efforts to be a regional hub for car production.
Ford said it planned to buy about 800 million dollars of local components every year through Thai suppliers.
The move is welcome news for the Thai economy, which has seen its growth stunted by two months of anti-government protests in Bangkok that paralysed parts of the capital and scared away foreign tourists.
The mass rally by the "Red Shirt" movement, seeking immediate elections, sparked outbreaks of violence that left 90 people dead, mostly civilians, and nearly 1,900 injured.
Ford chief executive Alan Mulally said the investment "is another important step in our aggressive expansion in the Asia-Pacific region".
The company, which expects the region to account for roughly 40 percent of the car industry's growth over the next five to seven years, has invested three billion dollars in expanding its operations in Asia since 2006.
Ford has enjoyed a turnaround in its fortunes following a dire period for the industry, battered by a severe global economic downturn that forced the US government to rescue General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy.
The auto giant said increased global sales helped it to a 2.1-billion-dollar profit in the first quarter of 2010. This followed earnings of 2.7 billion dollars for all of 2009 -- Ford's first annual profit since 2005.
