Linglong to invest in four global projects

Linglong Tire is to set up three fully-owned subsidiaries and a joint venture for a combined $43.1 million of registered capital, according to its filings on Feb. 24.

Two of the three subsidiaries will be set up in Yantai, where the company is headquartered. One will specialize in rubber and tire research with $30.6 million in registered capital, and the other on scrap tire and rubber recycling with $3.06 million in registered capital.

The third subsidiary, located in Beijing, will be a sports culture development company with $7.69 million in registered capital. It will focus on the manufacture and sales of sports products, the construction of sports facilities, the operation and promotion of sports events and investment in sports clubs.Linglong is also establishing a smart equipment manufacturing joint venture in Yantai with smart factory solution provider Shanghai MJ Intelligent System. The tire maker will put in a $1.79 million investment and hold a 60 percent stake.

The joint venture aims to learn from the advanced experience in smart equipment and improve the company's current machinery quality, the firm said in its filing.

Another Linglong filing on the same day points out that the U.S. International Trade Commission's determination not to issue anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders on truck and bus tires imported from China will help ease the supply pressure at the company's Thailand site and maintain its strategic partnership with nearby clients.Linglong also expects its U.S. sales will hit a record high in 2017.

The company also announced on the same day it is to pump up to $120 million in investment into its Thailand site for a three phase project, including 800,000-unit annual capacity for radial truck and bus tires and 2-million-unit annual capacity for radial passenger car tires and 400,000-unit annual capacity for bias tires.

Construction of the project will take 18 months. The new facilities are estimated to general $30.6 million annual profit on $184.4 million sales, the firm said.