VIENTIANE, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese optical glass maker Hoya Corporation is investing over 300 million U.S dollars to build a new manufacturing facility in Laos to produce memory disks for hard disk drives.
Hoya Corporation held an official ceremonial groundbreaking for Hoya Laos Co., Ltd. in the Saysettha Development Zone (SDZ) in Lao capital Vientiane last Friday, SDZ officials told Xinhua on Tuesday.
The SDZ, included into the early harvest list of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is jointly established by Lao and Chinese governments. Currently, there are a total of 56 companies investing in the SDZ, worth about 1,000 million U.S. dollars, while most of the investors come from China, Japan and Thailand.
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, said a news release from Hoya released on Monday.
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, said the release.
Memory glass for hard disk drives is found not only in notebook computers, but also the data centers of Cloud, IOT data storage.
The government of Laos, especially Lao 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, Minister of Planning and Investment Souphanh Keomixay 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.
