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Toshiba Announces Business Vision for Southeast Asia
Targets double current sales and will invest US$1 billion over next five yearsJakarta, Indonesia—Mr. Hisao Tanaka, the President and CEO of Japan’s Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), today announced Toshiba’s comprehensive strategy for expanding its business in Southeast Asia, including investing US$1 billion dollars in the region over the next five years, and doubling its current sales to $7 billion dollars.
Speaking at a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mr. Tanaka detailed the infrastructure technologies and know-how that Toshiba proposes to deploy in Southeast Asia in support of building a better future and securing a safe, secure and comfort society.
Underlining the importance of Southeast Asia to Toshiba, Mr. Tanaka explained that for Toshiba, Southeast Asia has long been a strategic manufacturing hub for Toshiba’s major businesses, including semiconductors, hard disk drives and SSD in the Storage business, transmission and distribution equipment and industrial motors, and TVs and home appliances.
Building on this, the company will shortly start operation of a new infrastructure business in Indonesia, part of a regional network it is putting in place, and is also promoting major initiatives in healthcare, as Mr. Tanaka noted: “We are building a new medical equipment manufacturing plant in Malaysia, alongside the medical equipment sales company we established this June. We recently positioned healthcare as one of our three main pillars of business.”
Looking at relations between Southeast Asia and Japan, Mr. Tanaka referenced a recent survey which found that 33% of people in the region, by far the largest group, considered Japan to be the most reliable partner. He commented: “Southeast Asia currently enjoys positive benefits Japan does not have, including high economic growth and a young, highly capable workforce, and that hands of friendship adds to the importance of our partnership.” He added, “We have located many important strategic manufacturing hubs in the region. And because of this, ensuring stable power supply, putting in place disaster prevention measures and upgrading social infrastructure, are all as important to us as they are to people here.”
Toshiba’s plan to invest billion dollars in Southeast Asia, the same amount the group has invested in the region over the last 20 years. Mr. Tanaka explained, “Southeast Asia is dynamic and forward looking, and so is Toshiba. More than anything else, I want Toshiba Group to engage deeply in Southeast Asia, to understand and respond to the unique qualities of each country. Guided by our long-standing values and local wisdom, I want Toshiba to grow in harmony with the countries and communities of Southeast Asia, and to achieve our vision of creating a safe, secure and comfortable society, the ‘Human Smart Community”