Indonesia
On 28 May 2021 growing Thai tyre retail chain, B-Quik opened two new centres on the Tiwanon road in north Bangkok. The addition of the two centres, which are spaced 8 kilometres apart, follows the opening of two more Thai branches at the start of April 2021.
Continental is extending its commitment to sustainability in the natural rubber supply chain. The tyre maker and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have agreed to significantly expand their project to ensure full traceability within the natural rubber supply chain in the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan (Borneo).
Following the news from the Association of Indonesia Automotive Industries (GAIKINDO) that automotive exports from the country declined by 30.1 per cent, Bakar Sadik Agwan, senior automotive consulting analyst at GlobalData, says: “Indonesia’s automotive output tumbled significantly due to the COVID-19 and troubled economic environment in 2020. Production, domestic sales, exports and imports all were significantly below the initial expected levels. Indonesia, which is the second largest vehicle manufacturer in the Southeast Asia, depends heavily on exports, making it a key variable for the domestic automotive economy.
Toyo Tire Corporation is closing its loss-making wholly-owned Silverstone Berhad Malaysian tyre manufacturing subsidiary in June 2021. Established on 12 July 1986 and purchased by Toyo in 2011, Silverstone currently manufactures tyres for (primarily Malaysian) new vehicles and Silverstone branded tyres for the aftermarket as well as certain Toyo branded tyres. The dissolution of the Silverstone subsidiary (Silverstone Berhad) will commence by 31 December 2021.
There’s no substance to the rumour about a merger with Michelin-owned tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana Tbk, says PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk. Indonesian financial publication Kontan reports that when asked to confirm or deny the alleged transaction, Gajah Tunggal’s finance and accounting director Kisyuwono responded that the rumour is “not true”.
Campaign group Mighty Earth has published a report alleging that Michelin “covered up industrial-scale deforestation of over 2,500 hectares of rainforest in the run-up to the launch of its flagship ‘eco-friendly’ sustainable natural rubber joint venture project in Sumatra, Indonesia”. The project is currently seeking an additional $120 million in investment from green financiers. Michelin’s joint-venture Indonesia natural rubber project Royal Lestari Utama (RLU) robustly denied the allegations.
Marubeni is well-known for its range of tyre-related investment interests. While the conglomerate began in Japan, recent additions in Russia and US-based Tyrata demonstrate the diversity of its tyre-related portfolio.
Kenda Rubber Industrial has been producing bicycle and motorcycle tyres at its Indonesia plant since 2015. According to local media reports, the Taiwanese manufacturer now wants to move production capacity from China to Indonesia.
Former Maxxis International president Dr Wally Chen is leaving retirement to assume the chairmanship of the company. Dr Chen, who oversaw Maxxis’ rise to the ranks of the world’s top 10 tyre companies, will assume the chairmanship effective immediately following a vote by the company’s board of directors at a recent meeting. He replaces former Maxxis/Cheng Shin chairman Robert Lo (pictured).
Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd (DATL) is planning to invest 1 trillion rupiah (£54.14 million; 64 million euros; US$70.92 million) in an aircraft tyre retreading factory in Karawang, West Java, Indonesia. According to several local news sources, the retreading factory will be followed by a new aircraft tyre production plant as well.
Following a successful public offer, Michelin now holds a 99.64 per cent shareholding in Indonesian tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK. After acquiring an 87.59 per cent share of Multistrada on 8 March, Michelin launched a public offer for the remaining outstanding shares, at the same price per share as previously offered. The transaction enabled Michelin to acquire an additional 12.05 per cent in the company.
On 6 March, the International Tripartite Rubber Council (ITRC) announced plans to reduce rubber exports by 240,000 tons for the next four months.
On Friday, Michelin announced its acquisition of 88 per cent of Indonesian tyre maker PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK (Multistrada) for US$480 million. The share purchase was completed in line with the terms announced on 22 January 2019 and after obtaining all necessary approvals. As part of the transaction, Michelin also takes on a 20 per cent stake in the tyre retail and automotive service chain PT Penta Artha Impressi, as well as 50 hectares of land.
It is not unusual for the start of the year to be replete with corporate acquisitions. Some even happen while much of the western world is enjoying Christmas and new year holidays. While European FinTyre Distribution (EfTD) did indeed enact the latest move in its ongoing strategic purchasing programme during the 2018 holiday break, it seems that this year February was the month of choice for getting the chequebooks out, with Bridgestone, Michelin and – in the UK at least – Goodyear all announcing strategic spending. For different but connected reasons all three challenge us to consider the impact of changing mobility trends.
Michelin has agreed to buy 80 per cent of PT Multistrada Arah Sarana TBK, the Indonesia-based tyre manufacturer. With a production capacity of more than 180 thousand tons (which equates to 11 million passenger car tyres, 9 million two-wheel tyres and 250 thousand truck tyres), Multistrada generated net sales of US$281 million in 2017.
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B-Quik
Silverstone
Mighty Earth
B-Quik; Marubeni
Maxxis International