Circuit board makers invest THB162bn in Thailand, seek BOI incentives
Foreign PCB manufacturers, mostly from China and Taiwan, seek special BOI privileges for 95 existing and upcoming projects
The Board of Investment said that many foreign printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturers have been seeking special privileges for their investments worth 162 billion baht over the past year.
BOI secretary-general Narit Therdsteerasukdi said on Wednesday that most of these circuit board manufacturers were from China or Taiwan and they have applied for BOI privileges in 95 projects.
These include expansion projects of foreign manufacturers already established in Thailand, such as Mektec and KCE, he said. There were also newcomers showing interest, such as Unimicron, Compeq, WUS, Gold Circuit, Chin Poon, Dynamic Electronics, Apex Circuit and Unitech, he said.
Most of them are in the process of building their factories, which will be ready to start manufacturing later this year, the BOI secretary-general said.
Another newcomer interested in BOI privileges is Well Tek Electronics, which is a subsidiary of Welgao Electronics, a Chinese circuit board manufacturer that uses advanced technology.
Narit said Well Tek Electronics’ 64,000-square-metre factory in Thailand began operating in June this year.
In the first phase, the company invested 2.5 billion baht on making high-density interconnected (HDI) PCBs with up to 30 layers, Narit added.
For the second phase, the company is building a much larger factory that will be capable of making HDI PCBs with up to 50 layers.
Narit said Well Tek Electronics’ PCBs are generally used in data servers, data centres and power supplies for electric vehicles. He added that 40% of its PCBs are sold locally and the rest are exported.
He added that Well Tek is Welgao’s first factory outside China and the Chinese manufacturer decided to base it in Thailand as it has confidence in the country’s infrastructure, supply chains and qualified human resources.
Narit added that the Well Tek factory is a smart factory that uses advanced technology and AI in all its manufacturing processes. The factory also uses automated guided vehicles in the transportation of its products.
In the first phase, the company hired 500 Thai personnel, most of them engineers and technicians.
The company also plans to open its research centre that will employ over 40 Thai researchers to develop AI and computer software, microelectronics, and other advanced technologies,” the BOI chief concluded.
