Sundaram Fasteners Ltd, India's largest maker of nuts and bolts, said on Wednesday it will begin commercial production in April 2004 from a new plant it is setting up in China.
A Natrajan, Sundaram's senior general manager told Reuters from Chennai that the company planned to invest $5 million in the first phase in China to make 108,000 tonnes of high tensile fasteners a year.
"We would be looking to sell to the Chinese automotive and non-automotive market and could also export from there. There is a cost advantage to producing in China, but it is difficult to say how much exactly now," Natrajan said.
He expected the first year's revenue from the company to be about Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million).
Sundaram is setting up the plant in the Haiyan Economic Development Zone in south China, about 100 kilometres from Shanghai, as a fully owned subsidiary.
The Chennai-based firm supplies fasteners to nearly all Indian auto firms and exports to global firms like General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Volvo and Cummins.
Sundaram's shares were up 3.68 per cent at Rs 456.20 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
