Thai plastics distributor hopes PENJANA will spur new car sales

By Linda Khoo Hui Li

BANGKOK, June 10 -- A distributor of engineering and commodity grade plastics in Thailand, Polymer Solutions Co Ltd (Polymer Solutions), has welcomed the much-needed automotive sector confidence boost under the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA).

Polymer Solutions managing director Yap Choon Eng said the announcement by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday on tax exemption on vehicles will hopefully spur new car sales.

“We are currently supplying automotive grade plastics to Malaysia and I am cautiously optimistic volume will pick up,” he told Bernama.

On Sunday, Muhyiddin announced Malaysia’s short-term economic recovery plan to offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The measures include 100% sales tax exemption for locally-assembled CKD (completely knocked-down) models and 50% for imported CBU (completely built-up) models from June 15 to Dec 31.

As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world in early January this year, Thailand’s automotive and related industries have been hit hard, and Polymer Solutions is no exception.

Yap, who is from Kuala Lumpur and is the major shareholder of the company, said Polymer Solutions has seen a 70 per cent drop in its automotive segment.

“Car production in Thailand is expected to plunge to one million compared to two million cars this year.

“All Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have partially shut down due to the pandemic.

“We do have other segments such as medical grade which has naturally surged during this period. However, we are also facing supply shortages in that segment. We are waiting for a similar vehicle tax exemption from the Thailand government to encourage buyers back to car showrooms,” he said.

Polymer Solutions specialises in engineering and commodity grade plastics for both the local and export markets. The market segment includes automotive, consumer electronics, medical, packaging and houseware.

At present, it has two warehouses – one in Sri Racha in Chonburi Province, and another in Bangkok. Polymer Solutions started with five million baht in 2013, and its current paid-up capital is 11.5 million baht.

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the automotive and related industries in Thailand, a regional vehicle production and export hub for the world’s top automobile manufacturers.

Domestic car sales in Thailand slumped for the 11th straight month in April, plunging 65.02 per cent from a year earlier to 30,109 units. In March, sales dropped 41.74 per cent to 60,105 units. Global car makers in Thailand shut down production lines from March to April following falling car sales.

-- BERNAMA