Guangzhou Auto to list

Guangzhou Automobile Group is planning to list on the domestic A-share market before the end of the year, a company executive told state media. The executive gave no further details of the listing or how much money the company expected to raise. Analysts said Guangzhou Automobile was in urgent need of funds to finance its ambitious expansion plans. The company aims to produce more than 1 million vehicles a year by 2010, up from 120,000 last year. The company had planned a domestic listing in the early 1990s, but that was derailed as a result of heavy losses. Last week the company launched a sedan joint-venture project with Toyota of Japan, adding to existing JVs with Honda and Isuzu Motors.