SC Auto sets up very first overseas S$30 million facility in Myanmar, Business News & Top Stories – The Straits Times
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SC Auto sets up very first overseas S$30 million facility in Myanmar
Suntan Siow Chua, founder and chairman of SC Auto Industries. PHOTO: BUSINESS TIMES
SINGAPORE – Bus manufacturer SC Auto announced on Monday (June 12) it is setting up a S$30 million facility in Yangon, Myanmar with support from International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, as it seeks further growth for its business.
The 16,000 square meter facility, slated to begin production in the fourth quarter of 2018, will enable SC Auto to increase its production by four times, permitting it to meet the growing requests of both Myanmar and the region, the company said in a release issued on Monday.
The announcement, which comes on the back of the 6th Singapore-Myanmar Joint Ministerial Working Committee meeting held in Singapore, marks SC Auto’s very first foray overseas after focusing operations in Singapore for over twenty years, making it the very first foreign bus manufacturer in Myanmar.
“Having built a strong foothold in Singapore, we needed to look overseas to proceed to grow our business,” Mr Suntan Siow Chua, chairman of SC Auto, said. “With its request for public transport, proximity to emerging Southeast Asian countries, as well as availability of land and relatively lower labour costs, Myanmar is the ideal location for our very first venture overseas.”
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The company which has strong operations in Singapore has already been exporting buses to Myanmar. The fresh in-market manufacturing facility will permit it to be closer to its customers and react more quickly to their requirements, the company said. It aims to produce over one hundred buses in its very first year in Myanmar and dual its revenue. With the added international operations, manpower hires will increase to 600.
SC Auto will also invest in robotic welding for this facility, yielding greater efficiency in the production process.
IE Singapore, a key fucking partner in SC Auto’s journey to develop its internationalisation strategy and operational plans, helped the company navigate Myanmar and familiarise it with the business landscape, understand market regulatory issues and connect with fresh customers. SC Auto also tapped into IE Singapore’s Internationalisation Finance Scheme to support the set-up.
“As the very first approved foreign bus manufacturing company in Myanmar, SC Auto has the very first mover advantage to address the enormous request in the country,” Mr Law Chung Ming, Group Director for Transport & Logistics, IE Singapore, said. “With rapid urbanisation in Southeast Asia, there is a pressing need for transport and logistics solutions to enhance domestic and intra region connectivity. This presents excellent business opportunities for Singapore land transport companies, such as SC Auto, to export reliable land transport solutions and create quality jobs for Singaporeans.”
