Tokyo, July 15: Thailand's currency crisis has not forced Japanese manufacturers to change their business plans there or elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but lingering worries could take their toll on future investments in the region, company officials say.

They added that not all the news was bad, as the weaker baht and other Asian currencies could boost the competitiveness of companies that export products out of the region.

"The fall of the Thai baht will not necessarily have only a negative impact on our earnings," said an official at Toray Industries Inc. Toray is a leading Japanese manufacturer of textiles and synthetic fibres.

"We export a lot from Thailand. With the fall of the baht against the dollar, we can benefit and get higher profits," he said.

At the same time, however, the company has to procure raw materials at higher cost because it makes purchases in the local currency.

Toray also has no plans to alter any of its projects currently under way in Thailand.

"Our company has two projects under way in Thailand and we are not considering revising those plans now even after the currency turmoil," the official said.

On July 2, Thailand surprised the currency market by announcing it would float the baht. The currency subsequently fell to record low levels against the dollar and the Philippine peso and other Asian currencies came under attack as well.

A spokesman for Toshiba Corp said his company did not currently plan to take any specific steps in response to the currency crisis in Southeast Asia.

"The recent events in Thailand and the Philippines are unlikely to have a major impact in the long run, as there are both positive and negative aspects to them," he said.

"We export products made at our Thai and Philippine plants to other Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and outside of Asean, so the currency devaluation might also have a positive effect," he added.

Asean groups Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.Toshiba makes home appliances such as air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines in Thailand, where it also has a semiconductor assembly plant and a cathode-ray tube display plant.

In the Philippines, Toshiba makes hard-disk drives and CD-ROM drives.Analysts said the fall in the baht could also result in savings from lower salaries and overhead.

"The devaluation of Asian currencies could attract investment from Japanese firms who want to invest abroad for the purpose of exporting from those countries," said Daisuke Hiratsuka, deputy Chief of the econometric analysis and forecast division at Japan's Institute of Developing Economies (IDE)."But we are not likely to see major investments from the automobile, petrochemical and steel industries for a while in this situation," he added.

Officials at other major Japanese companies said that they will be closely monitoring the situation with other Asian currencies.

An official at Sony Corp said the company has been arranging forward baht sales up until about September, especially since May when Thailand seemed to be facing troubles."Sony has little direct business with the Philippines, so the impact is limited...but the company is preparing for any possible turmoil in other Asian markets," the official said.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.