Refrigeration specialist Haisan Resources Bhd is expanding and upgrading its facilities in Malaysia, the Philippines and China following the strong take-up rate of its facilities, said managing director Ong Chin Yuet.

"The existing Guangzhou temperature-controlled logistics (TCL) facility recently expanded its capacity to 4,700 pallets and this will be further increased to 8,000 pallets by end-2005," he said in a statement released after the company's AGM on June 23.

Ong said China was a huge market for Haisan and it would build and implement an efficient logistics network in that country as it sought to be the leading regional cold-chain logistics solutions provider.

In Malaysia, Ong said, the company acquired a 1.6ha piece of land next to its facility in Klang. The group would convert part of its two existing warehouses there into a cross-docking and storage faciity.

He also said Haisan operated the largest multiple TCL facility in the Philippines. The 9,400 sq metres facility in Manila would be expanded to store 9,000 pallets by end-2005 from 5,700 pallets now.

"To broaden the group's customer base in the Philippines, Haisan is in preliminary discussions with several regional food players to set up food or marine product processing and storage facilities," he added.