(Yicai) April 8 -- Chinese home kitchen appliance manufacturer Biyi Electric Appliance plans to invest USD50 million to build a factory in Thailand to produce small-sized kitchen appliances to enhance its risk-handling capabilities.

The plant, to be built in the Nong Lalok industrial park in the Thai province of Rayong, will have an annual production capacity of seven million small kitchen appliances, including air fryers and coffee machines, the Zhejiang province-based company announced late on April 3, the day before China’s Tomb-Seeping Festival holiday. Construction is expected to be completed in two years.

The project will enhance Biyi’s capability to deal with risks given the latest global trade frictions and effectively strengthen its small kitchen appliances’ manufacturing ability and help the company expand in Southeast Asian markets to meet the increasing overseas demand, Biyi added.

Biyi is an original designer and contract manufacturer of small kitchen appliances. Its overseas customers are mainly based in Europe and the Americas, with some others from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and South Africa. Biyi’s overseas sales revenue neared CNY1.3 billion (USD173.6 million) in 2022, accounting for 84 percent of the total, according to the firm’s 2022 financial statement.

Biyi [SHA: 603215] closed down 3.9 percent at CNY17.93 (USD2.48) in Shanghai today. The stock rebounded about 30 percent after plunging to its lowest closing price in early February.

Editor: Futura Costaglione