First Automotive Works Group expects its car sales will increase
15 percent to one million units this year and is moving ahead with
preparations for its first stock market listing to fund future
expansion.
The nation's second-largest car maker is considering a range of
plans for its initial public offering, Zhu Yanfeng, president of
the state-owned FAW, said in a statement on the company
Website.
He declined to identify the market and listing scale,
however.
Sales in China's recovering auto industry are growing by more
than 25 percent a development that has encouraged car makers to
raise money from the stock market for expanding production capacity
and developing new models.
Guangzhou Automobile Group and Chongqing Lifan Group also
restarted their listing plans to accelerate development in the
world's second-largest auto market.
Changchun, NE China's Jilin Province-based FAW cooperates with
Volkswagen AG, Japan's Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp in
China. Among the models it produces are the Jetta, Corolla and its
wholly owned Redflag and Xiali brands.
The company expects it million-unit sales projection to include
400,000 vehicles from its joint venture with VW, 270,000 from
FAW-Toyota and 200,000 units from its Xiali subsidiary.
Zhu said the car maker aims to lift its production to two
million units by 2010, half of which will be self-branded
models.
(Shanghai Daily March 13, 2007)