Chinese tyre manufacturer Qingdao Full RunTyre Corp. Ltd. is expected to invest US$200 million (RM894 million) to build a new factory in the Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ) in Malaysia.
The Qingdao, China-based company specialising in tyre R&D, tyre manufacture, and wholesale & retail trade business has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the PKFZ, where it will be initially investing RM200millionfor the first phase of the factory construction.
The factory, incorporated under Golden Horse Rubber SdnBhd in Malaysia, is expected to start production by May 2017, said its president Liu Zijin.
Speaking at the signing of the MoU in Qingdao, Liu added that the company would only bring some 20 technical staff from China and was expected create 300 jobs for Malaysians.
Also present at the signing was PKFZ assistant general manager Chan Wun Hoong and a delegation from MCA Youth.
Chan explained that Full RunTyre has taken a 30-year lease with PKFZ, where they have allocated six acres of land and 20 warehouses for operations.
“We expect an increase in container port traffic by 6,000 TEUs (20-ft equivalent unit) per year,” Chan said, adding that they hope the move will boost Port Klang’s international ranking.
He also said that the factory was expected to export three million tyres to Southeast Asia every year.
FullRun Tyre has sold more than 50 million tyres since its incorporation, with most of its exports going to South America and Europe, its president said.
According to its website, the company’s exports hit more than US$100million in the past nine years.
MCA Youth, of which Chan is the publicity bureau chief, was on an official visit to Shandong.The delegation was led by Youth chief Datuk Chong Sin Woon.