An example of this strategy is the speeding up of efforts to adopt an integrated system covering development, production and distribution in the key markets of the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

Japanese manufacturers see the acceleration of Asean moves to conclude free trade agreements with countries including Japan--a Japanese-Malaysian FTA came into effect on July 13--as an opportunity to focus on the region in an effort to secure a larger global market share.

On July 20, Nissan Motor Co. announced a plan to set up an export base for automobile parts near the Thai port of Laem Chabang, 130 kilometers southeast of Bangkok.

Components manufactured by 94 makers in Thailand will be shipped abroad with the Tiida compact model's body panels, with interior parts being exported to Mexico and engines parts to South Africa for local assembly.

The Thai base is part of Nissan's global strategy to include Asean countries in its component supply network, said Yasuaki Hashimoto, corporate vice president of Nissan, during a press conference in Singapore.

The export base is scheduled to become fully operational in January 2007, handling an estimated 300 million dollars worth of shipments per year, the second largest amount for Nissan, after Japan.

Nissan also plans to build a similar base in Indonesia in August 2007.

Mitsubishi Motors Corp., meanwhile, last year fully updated its Thai-centric pickup truck, and is now exporting the new model, Triton, from Thailand.

In early July, Toyota Motor Corp. established a production support company in Thailand manned by a Japanese task force with the goal of improving the speed and efficiency of individual production companies in Asia.