WEIFANG, China—Chinese tire maker Shouguang Firemax Tyre Co. Ltd. is planning to built a factory in Cambodia, its first outside of China, according to a filing with tax authorities in China.
The project, valued at $190 million, is slated to have a capacity of 8 million passenger tires and 1.2 million truck/bus tires once completed.
In a Feb. 26 statement, the Weifang Municipal Taxation Bureau said it provided "personalized and refined cross-border tax services" to Shouguang Firemax for its overseas investment.
"Building production lines is costly, requires large investments, and has a long payback cycle," Wang Guangjie, financial director of Firemax, said.
Tax officials, he went on to say, have "taken the initiative to... answer policy questions and teach us step-by-step how to [receive] tax benefits."
"We are full of confidence in this round of investment," Guangjie added.
Based in Shouguang, Weifang, Shandong province, Firemax Tyre operates one tire plant in China, with an annual capacity of 12 million car tires and 1 million truck/bus tires. It goes to market with the Firemax and Kpatos brands.
The company is the latest Chinese tire maker to announce plans to expand into Cambodia, as western markets, particularly the U.S. and Europe, tighten trade barriers against Chinese tire imports.
- Earlier this year, Sailun Group Co. Ltd. disclosed a plan to doublie the size of an ongoing expansion project at tis two-year-old factory in Svay Rieng, Cambodia, with a $311 million investment plan.
- Jiangsu General Science Technology Co. Ltd. (JGST) is investing $212 million to expand its year-old factory in Sihanouk, Cambodia, to add capacity for 3.5 million car tires and 750,000 radial truck/bus tires.
- Qingdao Doublestar Group broke ground in May 2023 on a $210 million tire plant in Kratie Province, Cambodia. The factory, with a nameplate capacity of 7 million passenger and 1.5 million truck/bus tires, is a joint venture involving Doublestar and Cambodia's U.B.E. Development Co. Ltd.
In addition, Wanli Tire Co. is carrying out feasibility studies on a proposed $500 million tire factory project in Cambodia.
Starting with virtually no shipments in 2020, Cambodia has emerged as a serious player in the U.S. tire industry, shipping 5.34 million car and 1.86 million light truck tires to the U.S. last year, all coming from newly established subsidiaries of Chinese tire makers.