Suzuki to set up assembly plant in Cambodia

BANGKOK, Jan. 20 Kyodo Japanese automobile and motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki Motor Corp. plans to begin assembling motorcycles in Cambodia from June, a company official said Wednesday. Thai Suzuki Motor Co., a local affiliate of the parent company, will set up the assembly joint venture with a Cambodian partner, OMC Motor Co., and invest 2.5 million dollars in the project, company director Masanobu Saito told Kyodo News.

''Despite the kingdom's political and economic difficulties, we are quite confident the Cambodian motorbike market is still growing,'' Saito said, noting his company exports 15,000-20,000 motorbikes a year from Thailand to Cambodia The assembly plant, which will be located about three kilometers from Phnom Penh's Pochentong airport, will employ 92 workers and assemble 40,000 motorbikes annually for local consumption and possibly export to countries such as China, he said. ''Owing to war and political instability, Cambodia may have a poorly skilled workforce, but with our training in Thailand's factory they (Cambodian workers) can meet Suzuki standards,'' he said. Suzuki has already established assembly plants in Laos and Vietnam.