(Yicai Global) Jan. 18 -- Zanyu Technology Group, a Chinese manufacturer of surfactants and oleochemicals, plans to invest CNY1 billion (USD147.6 million) to build a plant in Malaysia to branch out into the business of biodiesel production.

Zanyu's new factory, located in the Palm Oil Industrial Cluster near the Port of Lahad Datu, is designed to have an annual output capacity of 200,000 tons of biodiesel, as well as a total of 350,000 tons of three other oleochemicals, including glycerin, the Hangzhou-based firm said in a statement yesterday. 

The products are mainly aimed at entering the Malaysian market but will also be sold to other Southeast Asia countries, as well as the global market.

The plant is scheduled to be built in two phases, and the first one is expected to take 24 months to complete. When ready, the factory should bring the firm about CNY380 million (USD56.1 million) in pre-tax profit and about CNY4 billion in sales each year. 

The POIC is one of the world’s most important centers for palm oil manufacturing as the industrial park is surrounded by oil palm plantations. Building the facility there will help Zanyu get notable advantages in commodity costs, transport, and taxes, it said. 

The plan failed to buoy Zanyu's stock price [SHE: 002637] as the shares closed 1 percent lower at CNY12.33 (USD1.80).

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi