Q-Cells plans $1.6 bln plant in Malaysia -paper

KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 (Reuters) - Germany's Q-Cells (QCEG.DE), the world's largest solar cell maker, will invest 5 billion ringgit ($1.6 billion)for a production site in Malaysia, its first factory in Asia, local newspaper Financial Daily said on Tuesday.

"What we have foreseen up to now is an investment budget of 5 billion ringgit and we hope to employ 800 to 900 people in the first phase," Chief Executive Anton Milner was quoted as saying at the groundbreaking ceremony for the site on Monday.

The company had said in February it planned to invest more than 1 billion ringgit in the plant, which was expected to reach a production capacity of more than 300 megawatt peak (MWp) over several expansion phases.

Construction for the facility was expected to be completed early next year and production would start in the second quarter, the newspaper said.

Q-Cells plans to hire another 1,600 to 1,800 people in two further development phases for the complex, which is expected to supply Europe and emerging markets.

"We will need to expand quickly here because we have a lot of interest from our subsidiary companies," Milner said.

"We expect the main markets for this photovoltaic technology to be in sunny countries where energy prices are high," he said, citing countries in Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

In May, Q-Cells posted a forecast-beating 63 percent jump in first-quarter operating profit, thanks to strong growth in South Korea and India. [ID:nL13756434] (Reporting by Chua Baizhen, Editing by Anshuman Daga)