India Auto Parts Manufacturer Eyes JV With Malaysian Company

From Nurunnasihah Abdul Rashid NEW DELHI, May 3 (Bernama) -- Indian's auto parts manufacturer, Lumax Mannoh Allied Technologies Ltd, is planning to tie-up with a Malaysian company to establish its third presence in ASEAN, Director Vivek Kumar Jakhmola said on Monday. He said Lumax already has auto parts manufacturing plants in Thailand and Indonesia and the plan to venture into Malaysia was due to the demand it has received from the country. For the purpose, "Lumax is looking for a possible joint venture partner by next year," he told Bernama here on Monday. "Initially, the investment could be between US$5 million and US$13 million, given the type of products we plan to manufacture in Malaysia," he said after meeting Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed who is leading a trade and investment promotion mission to Delhi, Vijayawada and Hyderabad in India and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Present during the meeting were Earlier Malaysia Investment Development Authority (MIDA) Deputy Chief Executive Officer II, N. Rajendran and Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation Management Services Division Senior Director Wan Latiff Wan Musa. Jakhmola said the company was currently interacting with several Malaysian corporate companies and MIDA had linked Lumax to one or two potential companies. Lumax, through its wholly-owned Lumax DK Auto Industries Ltd, is the market leader in design, testing and manufacture of parking brakes and gear shift levers in India with an overall domestic market share of more than 60 per cent with a strong presence in both passenger cars and commercial vehicle segments. Its major customers include Maruti Suzuki, Honda Cars, Toyota, Nissan, General Motors India, Daimler, Mahindra and Volvo Eichar. --BERNAMA