Flextronics Group will be investing RM1.5bil over the next 10 years to expand its operations in Johor, Flextronics Asia president and managing director Peter Tan said. 

The investment would be used to develop a fully integrated manufacturing centre at Port of Tanjung Pelepas' (PTP) free zone to house the engineering, printed circuit board assembly, plastics injection moulding and logistic operations in single location, he said. 

The 1.3 million sq ft industrial campus was the largest in Malaysia under the Singapore-based company's operations and the second largest in Asia after China. 

The company had invested about RM525mil in its Malaysian facilities in Senai, Tampoi, Tebrau, Shah Alam, Penang and Malacca, which together employ 18,000, he told a press conference after the signing of an agreement between Flextronics and PTP yesterday. 

In Malaysia, the original equipment manufacturer serves multinational companies in the communications, printing and digital imaging, computing and automotive industries. 

Tan said the company would consolidate its Malacca, Tampoi and Tebrau operations at the new centre, which would be fully operational next April.  

“The new centre needs between 12,000 and 13,000 employees, including 1,000 engineers,'' Tan pointed out.  
The company operates six other industrial campuses in Brazil, China, Hungary, Mexico and Poland. 

For its financial year ended March 31, 2005, Flextronics recorded US$16bil in revenue, of which 44% was from Asia. 

PTP chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Sidik Osman said the port was currently talking to three manufacturers who plan to set up facilities in its free industrial zone. 

“We are at looking towards the end of the year to finalise the talks and hopefully the projects could start early next year,” he said