China's Zxauto To Set Up $31 Mln Car Assembly Plant In Jordan

Tuesday, Jun 19, 2007

AMMAN (Zawya Dow Jones)--Chinese car producer Zxauto Co. Ltd. Tuesday signed a deal with Jordan's Ayass Motors to set up a car assembly plant in the country with an initial capital of $31 million, which will gradually increase to $230 million.

The factory, which will be built in the Um al-Rasas district, 40 kilometers south of Amman, is expected to start production mid-2008 at a rate of 5,000 cars a year, Mazin Ayass, Ayass Motors' President told Dow Jones Newswires.

Production will increase by 12,000 cars a year during a second phase and 24,000 vehicles during a third phase, Ayass said.

The factory hopes to target thousands of customers in Jordan and Iraq.

ZXAUTO Chairman Robert Chi Yu said his company, one China's top ten car producers, will produce 55,000 cars this year, up from around 30,000 in 2006.

The company has an assembly factory in Russia and is setting up another one in Mexico, he said.

Salem al Khazaalah, Jordan's minister for trade & industry and Maen Nsour, head of Jordan's Investment Board, said the Jordanian government will render all required facilities to set up the factory.

Nsour said the factory is expected to create up to 1,500 jobs.

-By Hassan Hafidh; Dow Jones Newswires; + 962 777 612 111; hafidh8@hotmail.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

19-06-07 1159GMT