Japan’s Sumitomo adding rental factory space in Southeast Asia
Trading house Sumitomo Corp will expand its factory rental business in Southeast Asia serving small manufacturers from Japan, offering them the chance to launch overseas production without the hefty financial commitment of building their own plants. The factory space comes ready for use, equipped with electricity, gas and communications lines. The monthly rent for a 1,500-sq.-meter space in Vietnam is typically around 1 million yen ($8,661), meaning an annual cost that is anywhere from one-eighth to one-tenth that of constructing one’s own facility. The low initial investment encourages smaller businesses to start overseas operations, Tokyo-based Sumitomo said. Tamagawa Electronics, a tenant in Vietnam since August 2015, agrees.
