Auto glass giant focuses on Russia, Germany and US

Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co Ltd, the world's largest auto glass manufacturer, will step up its overseas investments this year in Germany, the United States and Russia, with the total set to reach $200 million, its chairman told China Daily in an interview.

"As the largest auto glass producer, we shoulder the responsibility to supply products for most global auto manufacturers," said Cao Dewang, chairman of Fuyao.

"Our investment strategy is to follow our customers and meet their requirements.

"We will spend one-third of our annual investment budget of 4.2 billion yuan ($608 million) abroad in 2017, and Germany, the US and Russia are our destinations."

Cao said Fuyao will invest about 600 million yuan to 700 million yuan in Heidelberg, Germany, to set up an auto glass factory to serve clients such as Daimler AG, Audi AG, Volkswagen AG, Bentley Motors Ltd and Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc.

The company is also selecting a new site in the southern part of the US this year to build a new factory, he said.

In October, Fuyao completed its automotive glass manufacturing center in Dayton, Ohio. The plant, involving a total investment of $600 million, is expected to produce 5 million units of glass annually, accounting for a 25 percent market share in the US. The facility in Dayton will supply customers including General Motors Co, Chrysler LLC, Hyundai Motor Co, Honda Motor Co and Kia Motors Co.

"We will increase our investments to $1 billion in the US and create 5,000 jobs," said Cao.

According to Cao, the company's fixed investments both at home and abroad will increase by 10 percent to 20 percent annually, depending on market conditions.

"Although there are some voices going against the tide of globalization, we are determined to go abroad based on our own business development requirements and customers' needs," Cao said.

According to the Government Work Report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday to the annual session of the National People's Congress, China will step up efforts to perfect its mechanism to protect the legitimate rights of Chinese companies' overseas projects.

Fuyao's annual revenue totaled 16.6 billion yuan in 2016, increasing 22.5 percent year-on-year, and its profit totaled 3.14 billion yuan, increasing 20.7 percent year-on-year, according to the listed company's financial report.

Fuyao's overseas revenue totaled 5.6 billion yuan last year, up 25 percent year-on-year, said the report.

"Fuyao has made its global industrial plans, and we have confidence in its market share growth and profitability improvement," said Li Ming, an analyst at Guoyuan Securities Co in a research note.

China, the world's largest auto market, saw auto sales reach a record high of 28 million vehicles last year, up 13.7 percent year-on-year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Contact the writer through caixiao@chinadaily.com.cn