BANGKOK — BOI approves “Haier” investment of over 13 billion baht ($405 million), preparing to start production within 1 year, employing over 3,000 positions, increasing export value by 32 billion baht ($968 millon) per year.
The project consideration subcommittee, authorized by the BOI board, has approved an investment promotion application for smart air conditioner manufacturing by Haier Appliance Manufacturing Co., Ltd. under the “Haier” brand. Haier is a major home appliance manufacturer from China with the world’s No. 1 sales for 15 consecutive years (2009-2023), as ranked by Euromonitor.
The investment is as high as 13.4 billion baht, located on an area of over 200 rai at WHA Eastern Seaboard Industrial Estate 3 in Chonburi province.
The project will produce smart air conditioners with sensor and electronic systems that can detect and receive data, and can connect to smartphones and other devices via Wi-Fi network, with a capacity of 6 million units per year. The first phase will accelerate investment and install a production capacity of 3 million units, ready to start production by September 2025.
The full project will be operational by 2027, with plans to employ over 3,000 Thai personnel. The production will mainly be for export, with an export value of over 32 billion baht per year.
Mr. Narit Therdsteerasukdi, Secretary-General of the Board of Investment (BOI), said that Haier has decided to make a major investment to build a new factory, choosing Thailand as its largest smart air conditioner production base outside of China. This is because Thailand has quality infrastructure, especially stable and sufficient electrical power, a strong supply chain, and a strategic location with logistics readiness, including ports and convenient transportation routes to support exports.
Moreover, there are investment promotion measures from the government to attract quality investment projects that benefit the country in terms of job creation, personnel development, use of domestic raw materials, and increasing Thailand’s export value in the global market.
Previously, the Haier group has received investment promotion in various home appliance manufacturing businesses such as refrigerators, washing machines, electric rice cookers, electric kettles, and compressors for refrigerators, under Haier Electric (Thailand) Co., Ltd., totaling 9 projects with an investment of over 3 billion baht, located at Kabinburi Industrial Zone in Prachinburi Province. Currently, they are preparing to expand their refrigerator production at the existing factory site.
Mr. Gu Wenhai, President of Haier Electric (Thailand), said that Haier entered Thailand in 2002. Then in 2007, Haier acquired Sanyo’s business and officially entered Thailand.
“As a multinational company, we prioritize localization, including research and development that focuses primarily on local needs. From this perspective, Haier didn’t come to Thailand just for production and sales, but we also brought advanced techniques and technologies to Thailand, elevating the local area. Ultimately, we want Haier in Thailand to be produced by local people, creating pride for both those involved in production and our company itself,” he said.
Gu said that the billion-baht investment in the new factory where we will establish our air conditioner production base aims to gain recognition for environmental concerns in the Thai and ASEAN markets.
The next goal is to increase competitiveness, because in the past, there was a belief that Thai consumers didn’t trust Chinese brands. But since Haier entered Thailand when we didn’t yet understand local behavior, until now we’ve passed that point and thoroughly learned the behavior and needs of people in Thailand. This has led to increased sales and users of Haier products, reflecting that consumers are increasingly accepting and trusting Chinese brands.
“Looking at the current situation where Haier has invested in building a new factory in Chonburi, and we have development plans to expand our refrigerator factory in Prachinburi, these two points indicate that Haier still has confidence in Thailand’s economy. And if we look at the relationship between Thailand and the United States, having a factory in Thailand and exporting to the United States doesn’t have much impact. We consider the factory in Thailand as our opportunity for future development,” he said.
Mr. Zhou Yunjie, CEO of Haier Group, added that the factory has a construction plan divided into 3 phases, scheduled to be completed by 2027. The first phase will open with a production capacity of 3 million units in September 2025. The second and third phases will be completed and operational in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
After construction is completed, this factory will become the largest air conditioner production base in Southeast Asia and Haier’s largest overseas production base in the air conditioning industry.
“Haier’s investment in Thailand demonstrates the good cooperation between China and Thailand in driving sustainable international economic growth together. It also extends Haier’s vision to grow rapidly as an internationally standardized home appliance brand, creating an excellent user experience recognized by consumers worldwide, and continuing to deliver endless creative power according to the concept ‘More Creation, More Possibility’,” Mr. Zhou said.
Currently, Thailand is a leading production base for the home appliance industry in the ASEAN region and is one of Thailand’s top export products. Smart home appliance products tend to expand continuously due to the development of digital technologies including AI, 5G, and IoT, which are changing the standard of living in the modern world where consumers can connect and control various devices in their homes via the internet.
According to BOI, promoting the upgrading of the home appliance industry to “smart appliances” is one of BOI’s important goals. From 2023 to June 2024, there were 144 projects in the home appliance and parts industry applying for BOI promotion, with a total investment of 98,550 million baht.
Over 80% are products in the smart appliance group. Besides Haier, there are other leading brands with production bases in Thailand such as Mitsubishi, Sony, Daikin, Samsung, Electrolux, and Midea.
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