(Yicai) Aug. 22 -- Innovation New Material Technology, China’s biggest producer of aluminum alloy bars, said it will invest USD197 million to build a plant in Mexico.

Innovation New Material’s Hong Kong units Drayton Management and Gloucester Management will set up a project company in Mexico responsible for the investment, construction, and operation of the new plant, the Shandong province-based parent company said yesterday.

This is the second large overseas project the firm has unveiled in the past two months. On June 20, it said it would invest nearly CNY1.4 billion (USD194 million) to build a plant in Vietnam to produce aluminum alloy sections used in 3C -- computer, communication, and consumer electronics -- for the Southeast Asian market.

The latest project, which is still in the preliminary stage, will produce aluminum alloy materials for automobiles, it added, without disclosing any further details.

Innovation New Material’s aluminum alloy auto parts include wheel hubs, battery trays, crash beams, and seats, according to the firm’s 2022 earnings report. Its direct and indirect customers include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Nissan.

The project will make full use of the local auto supply chain, enhance the company’s competitiveness with North American clients, improve customer satisfaction, and help build the firm into a global supplier of lightweight auto aluminum alloy materials, Innovation New Material noted.

Shares of Innovation New Material [SHA: 600361] rose 2.8 percent to end at CNY6.16 (85 US cents) each in Shanghai today.

Editor: Futura Costaglione