Sony will launch a new smartphone factory in Thailand, setting up a start-to-finish production system covering chip mounting through assembly.

Initial investment is expected to total several billion yen. A production line will be added to an existing site in Pathum Thani Province that has been suspended since the massive 2011 floods. Mass production will begin in fiscal 2016, with initial volume slated to reach several million units a year.

Subsidiary Sony EMCS will own and operate the plant, and its Kohda facility in Aichi Prefecture will set up the production line and transfer it to Thailand.

The new Thai factory will be Sony's first plant for the mobile communications segment in 20 years. The last one was built in 1995 in Beijing through a joint venture with three local partners, with Sony owning a 51% interest. Having full ownership of the Thai plant will allow for speedier decision making.

Credit and view full story at Nikkei