Intraco,CNHTC to form JV to assemble Chinese trucks

PT Intraco Penta Tbk (INTA), one of major distributors of heavy equipment in Indonesia, and Chinese company China National Heavy Truck Company (CNHTC), will form a joint venture to establish an assembling plant to produce light and heavy trucks, Investor Daily reported on Monday.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the cooperation plan was signed in Beijing on Friday as part of business deals agreed during the visit of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to China last week.

Under the MoU, INTA?s subsidiary, PT Intraco Penta Wahana (IPW), and CNHTC will establish a joint venture to jointly produce Chinese trucks which will be marketed in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries.

The feasibility study for the construction of an assembling plant which will produce Chinese trucks under the name of Sinotruk is expected to be completed this year.

?The factory will assemble light and heavy trucks of above 24-ton capacity to be marketed in Indonesia and other ASEAN countries. The total investment is expected to reach US$100 million,? INTA president director said in an official statement issued on Sunday.

At present IPW, which was officially appointed as the representative of CNHTC in Indonesia last year, is currently the sole distributor of Sinotruk in Indonesia. This year, IPW expects to sell 650 units of Sinotruks.

In addition to Sinotruk, INTA is also the distributor of a number of heavy truck names including Volvo (Sweden), Ingersoll Rand (US), Bobcat (US, and Mahindra (India).(*)