Bando Densen of Japan Expands Cable Production To Laos Amid U.S.-China Row

Source: Japan Times

Electric wire maker Bando Densen Co. has set up a cable plant in Laos as part of its “China plus one” strategy, expanding production bases amid the U.S.-China trade row.

Bando’s Laotian arm, Bando Densen Lao Co., started producing cables for industrial use and home appliances in July at the plant in the Savan-Seno special economic zone in the southern central province of Savannakhet, according to the company based in Saitama Prefecture.

The wholly owned unit, established in January by its Hong Kong subsidiary with capital of $1 million, has rented a Taiwanese firm’s premises for the 3,100-square-meter plant to produce round multicore cables, aiming for annual sales of $6 million, Keisuke Maejima, deputy managing director of Bando Densen Lao, said last week.

The Laotian unit will export the products throughout Southeast Asia before expanding to Japan, Maejima said.

It is also considering shifting the labor-intensive assembly process for flexible flat cables, which are currently produced in Thailand, to the new plant to take advantage of cheaper labor costs, he said.

Bando has its overseas head office in Hong Kong with production bases in Shanghai and Shenzhen in China, along with the Thai plant and three factories in Japan.