Hoya Corporation last week held an official ceremonial groundbreaking for Hoya Laos Co., Ltd. in the Saysettha Development Zone (SDZ) in Vientiane.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Souphanh Keomixay, Japanese Ambassador to Laos, Mr Takeshi Hikihara, Vientiane Vice Mayor, Mr Keophilavan Aphailath, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Dr Khamlien Pholsena, Head of Special Economic Zone Promotion and Management Office, Mr Champa Khamsouksay, and Chief Operating Officer of Hoya Corporation, Mr Eiichiro Ikeda.

The ceremony was also attended by representatives of Hoya Corporation and its partners along with relevant government officials.   

The purpose of the new factory is to support the future growth of memory disk. Production at the new plant will start at the beginning of 2020 and is in addition to the existing memory disk for hard disk drive factories in Thailand and Vietnam.

When the factory is complete it will feature state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities and technologies.

Laos is an ideal location for the company to set up its new manufacturing facility and Hoya Laos will create over 4,000 jobs in Laos.

Memory glass for hard disk drives is found not only in notebook computers, but also the data centres of Cloud, IOT data storage. Hoya responds to customer needs through the stable production of high-quality products.

Currently, there are a total of 56 companies investing in the SDZ, worth about US$1,000 million, SDZ Head Mr Oudone Nhengvannavong reported.

Most of the investors come from China, Thailand, and Japan, he added.

A total of 146 Japanese companies are currently investing in Laos and more are expected to do so in the future, Mr Hikihara said.

The Japanese Embassy to Laos and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are trying to encourage more Japanese companies to invest in Laos, he added.

He assured that investment by the Hoya Corporation would be a part of Japanese companies’ investment to contribute to socio-economic development as well as the development of industry, and would create job opportunities for Lao people.  

The government of Laos, especially the Ministry of Planning and Investment, is actively trying to improve mechanisms, measures, regulations and policies to facilitate and accelerate proceedings for investors and business operators in Laos, Dr Souphanh said.

“In representing the government, we will always provide cooperation and assistance to companies building factories so they can fulfil their plans and run a successful business operation in Laos,” he added.      

Hoya is a global med-tech company and the leading supplier of innovative products in the fields of healthcare and information technology.