Upbeat Hana unveils investment

       Hana Microelectronics will invest US$10 million (Bt340 million) to purchase new machines for testing and tracing IC packaging and also plans to spend around Bt120 million purchasing new lands for capacity expansion.
       Vice chairman Issra Sivakul said yesterday that the investment budget for machinery purchase at its Ayutthaya plant is to increase the ability of IC packaging in line with a rebound in demand.
       He said the company will also look for a land plot to construct a new plant for manufacturing microelectronics products. The production capacity at its Lamphun plant is nearly full. The company is preparing to expand production capacity.
       "We have set a budget of Bt120 million for purchasing land. The location will be near the existing plant in Lamphun," he added.
       Microelectronic products represent 50 per cent of total capacity.
       The company also plans to move all production lines in Bangkok to Lamphun and Ayutthaya after the rental contract in Bangkok expires in the next two year, he said.
       The production lines in Bangkok are custom products group division, light emitting diodes, auto light emitting diodes and hybrid devices.
       Issara said the recession in the electronics industry may be over and the performance of Hana in the second half would be better than the first half as orders start to pour in.
       However, its revenue and profit would not be comparable with its achievement two years ago because the current economic trend had forced manufacturers to reduce prices to secure market share and woo more clients.
       Hana posted its highest profit of Bt2.44 billion in 2007. He said the company had adjusted its strategy to cope with the current economy by reducing prices, increasing productivity by 10 per cent in each plant and controlling costs.
       "Earlier, the company had forecast that its revenue will drop by 30 per cent year on year but with our strategies, we believe our revenue this year would drop only 20 per cent," he said.
       Hana recorded revenue of Bt15.51 billion last year.