Sharp to spend 130.8 m USD in a new plant in Indonesia

Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp says it has allocated some 1.2 trillion rupiah (about 130.8 million U.S. dollars) to finance the construction of its new plant in Indonesia designed to produce refrigerators and washing machines, local media reported on Friday. The construction of its new plant located in West Java industrial area of Karawang will be handled by its Indonesian operation unit Sharp Electronics Indonesia (SEID). “Domestic consumption has been growing steadily in the Indonesian market in concert with economic development, and further market expansion is expected in the future,” SEID said. The plant, which will start operations in 2013, will produce 220,000 refrigerators and 140,000 washing machines per month, the Jakarta Globe reported. SEID employs 3,208 people in the country. Sharp headquarters in Japan controls 92.8 percent of SEID. Currently, SEID produces 900,000 television sets, 650,000 audio units and 600,000 refrigerators every year at its plants in Indonesia.