TOKYO, June 8 (Reuters) – Japanese truck maker Isuzu Motors (7202.T) said on Thursday it had no plans to move a factory from Thailand to Indonesia, a day after Indonesia’s industry minister said it would would happen.
“While our company continues to focus on Indonesia as an important market, there are no plans to move a Thai factory to Indonesia,” said an Isuzu spokesman.
The company has not commented on the matter, the spokesperson added. Isuzu already has a factory in Karawang, Indonesia.
Indonesia’s Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said on Wednesday that Isuzu planned to move the plant and could begin production as early as next year.
A senior industry ministry official insisted late Thursday that Isuzu would move its factory to Indonesia.
“Maybe they haven’t really communicated it. But it has been confirmed that they want to move UD Truck (their truck factory),” Taufiek Bawazier, a director general of Indonesia’s Ministry of Industry, told reporters.
Shares of some Thai auto parts companies sold off on Thursday after the remark from Indonesia’s industry minister.
Isuzu started building trucks in Thailand 60 years ago.
Report by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo and Stefanno Sulaiman and Bernadette Christina in Jakarta. Edited by Gerry Doyle and Sriraj Kalluvila