Wanli, Malaysian property major to invest €280m in Malaysian tire plant

Kuala Lumpur – China's Wanli Tire and Malaysia's Berjaya Group have agreed to invest around $320 million (€279 million) in a new high-performance tire manufacturing plant in Malaysia.

The joint venture agreement, signed 6 July, will see Wanli and Berjaya will jointly develop the Wanli Malaysia "green rubber tire production base" in Bukit Tagar, Selangor, said a social media post by Wanli parent Guangzhou Industrial Control Group (GICC).

According to a Bursa Malaysia filing by Berjaya Property, the JV company will involve a total capital contribution of RM813.4 million (€175 million) over two years, with Wanli holding a 70% stake and Berjaya owning the remaining 30%.

The project will occupy 67.9 acres and is designed to produce 1.2 million truck and bus radial (TBR) tires and 5 million passenger car radial (PCR) tires per year.

In its post, GICC said the facility would become "a key strategic manufacturing base and export hub" within Wanli’s global production network.

Wang Fuzhu, vice chairman and general manager of GICC, described the agreement as marking "a new phase" in the group's ASEAN strategy, moving from "a single-point breakthrough to a multi-hub linkage."

Malaysia, he said, offers "mature industrial support and a superior shipping network," making it a strategic base for the group's expansion across Southeast Asia.

The investment follows Wanli's earlier overseas expansion into Cambodia and strengthens its manufacturing presence outside China.

Wanli currently operates production facilities in Guangzhou, Hefei and Cambodia with combined annual capacity of 33 million tires.