Top Biz News

CATIC eager for new investment

By You Xu (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-20 08:38

Globally, CATIC has some 50 overseas companies and representative offices in more than 30 countries and regions.

The CATIC trading platform also consists of a domestic distribution system, based primarily in southern China, particularly in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong and is one of the key manufacturing cities in the region.

CATIC, which was founded in 1979, had already grown into a sprawling industrial conglomerate by the 1990s. Over the past three years, it has placed greater emphasis on becoming a more integrated business.

In the meantime, as a result of its development and internal restructuring, CATIC's business revenue grew from 8 billion yuan (US$1.01 billion) in 2003 to 13 billion yuan (US$1.65 billion) in 2005, said Fu, adding that the figure is expected to reach 17 billion yuan (US$2.15 billion) this year.

Of this amount, around 10 billion yuan (US$1.27 billion) will come from trading, and the remainder from manufacturing and other operations. Fu explained that aviation-related activities generally account for 30 per cent of the firm's exports, and 70 per cent of its imports.

Recent years have witnessed a major rise in China's aviation exports, with 149 aircraft being sold to overseas markets in the past couple of years. CATIC expects to see annual sales of around 70 aircraft over the next two years, Fu added.