Bangkok - Delta Electronics (Thailand) announced today that the plans for its 50-million-dollar investment in a new factory in Chennai, India, will be delayed and in addition, it will procede with several downsize operations in Thailand.

"After finishing a feasibility study, we think that the project is not viable to invest in for the time being given the current market conditions," Delta's executive director Anusorn Muttaraid told the Bangkok Post newspaper.

The investment in a new India factory produce telecommunications and computer parts "might be feasible to resume later," he added.

Delta, the largest electronics company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), is expecting a 20-per-cent drop in revenues in 2009.

Besides postponing its investment in India, the company also plans to reduce staff by 400 people in its Thai operations.

Anusorn predicted that a global slump in the electronics industry would continue throughout the first two quarters of 2009 before bottoming out in the third, after which a recovery would be seen in the high-end of the market.

Electronics is one of Thailand's leading export sectors.