(Yicai) Jan. 16 -- Shares of Triangle Tyre jumped by the daily limit after the major Chinese tire maker said it would invest CNY3.2 billion (USD462 million) to build its first overseas manufacturing base in Cambodia, a move aimed at optimizing its international market layout.

Shandong province-based Triangle Tyre’s stock price [SHA: 601163] was locked at the daily upper trading limit of 10 percent from the market open and closed at CNY15.53 (USD2.20) today following the announcement.

According to a statement released yesterday, the company plans to build production lines in Svay Rieng province with an annual capacity of six million semi-steel radial tires and one million all-steel radial tires. The products will mainly be exported to regional markets including North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

Semi-steel radial tires are primarily used in passenger vehicles, while all-steel radial tires are mainly applied in heavy commercial vehicles, engineering vehicles, and special operation vehicles.

The new plant represents a renewed push into overseas expansion after Triangle Tyre scrapped plans announced in 2017 to build a factory in North Carolina in the United States, a project it terminated in 2022 due to changes in external factors, including the investment environment and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Construction of the Cambodia plant is scheduled to begin in March, with a construction period of about 17 months. After completion and commissioning, the project’s average annual investment return rate is expected to reach 15.1 percent, while average annual operating income is projected at CNY2.6 billion, the announcement said.

Building the plant in the Southeast Asian country will allow the company to leverage Cambodia’s advantages as a natural rubber producing areas, as well as lower land and labor costs, helping reduce tariff expenses and enhance profitability, the statement noted. The facility will also form a differentiated capacity layout with Triangle Tyre’s domestic plants, optimize resource allocation, and strengthen production capacity resilience.

Triangle Tyre is one of China’s major suppliers of commercial and engineering vehicle tires. The company produced 24.5 million tires last year and reported overseas revenue of almost CNY6 billion, accounting for nearly 60 percent of its total revenue in 2024, according to its annual report.

Editor: Emmi Laine