AVIC II to Achieve 15bn Yuan Sales Income in 2001China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II), one of China's top ten military enterprises mainly producing helicopters, aircraft, mini-vans and motorcycles, plans to turn out 21 billion yuan (US$2.5 billion) worth of products this year, an increase of 10 per cent from last year.The macro economic situation is beneficial to the development of our corporation, because China will continue to carry out an active fiscal policy, increase input in the western areas and high-tech sectors, improve the social security system, provide more compensation for laid-off workers and unemployees, and raise the income of public servants, Zhang said. Meanwhile, the country will map out a series of favourable policies helping military enterprises walk out of difficulties, he said. "China is also considering to list the real estate industry and home-use automobiles sector as new growth areas of economy," Zhang said. This is a piece of good news for AVIC II, as output value by the corporation's automobile industry accounts for 75 per cent of the total, he said. Meanwhile, the corporation's avaition plants have recieved more aircraft and helicopter orders from foreign countries. "The development of the mini-van sector will mainly focus on technical upgrading and introduce of new models through co-operation with foreign companies this year," he said. "The variety of mini-cars lags behind the demand." China's possible accession to the World Trade Organization this year provides enormous chances for the development of the AVIC II's mini-car sector. The relative low price of mini-vans resulting from low profit has made it possible for the corporation to increase exports, he said, adding the corportation has sold less than 4,000 mini-cars on the markets in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia in the past years. The expanded co-operation with foreign auto companies after the accession will improve the manufacturing level of mini-cars which helps improve the economic efficiency. Meanwhile, the global purchasing will help improve the manufacturing level of the corporation's auto parts factories. "The AVIC II will also try to expand the general-use aircraft and helicopter market this year, because the aviaion sector is of high-technoloby," Zhang said. China's general aviation industry lags behind the western countries in such aspects as aero-engine and aero-electronics, he said. The development of the general-use aircraft products are of high risks and of high-technology components, and usually demand a large amount of money. "The AVIC II will beef up co-operation with foreign companies to improve the technical level of its aviation products," he said. The five-seat EC120 helicopter, a joint programme between China, France and Singapore, has been proven a successful co-operation, Zhang said. "We will take every possibility to expand such co-operation," Zhang said. "We will also actively explore the international market by participating airshows and doing demonstration flights." While keeping close eyes on the domestic market, the AVIC II needs to occupy a certain market share on the international market, he said. China Aviation Industry Corporation II said his corporation will strive to export 200 aircraft in the next five years, according to an earlier report. 26 Aircraft Exported in 2000The Corporation exported 26 aircraft in 2000, according to general manager Zhang Yanzhong.At a national working conference held Wednesday, Zhang revealed that the corporation's civilian products value reached 17. 52 billion yuan in 2000, up 13.5 percent on an annual basis. Statistics show that the enterprise manufactured 235,000 compact cars last year, up 28.6 percent, and sold 235,000, up 27.9 percent, sharing 43 percent of the country's compact car market. The corporation, one of China's top 10 military industry enterprises, mainly produces helicopters and fighter planes as well as compact cars and motorcycles. |
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