(Yicai  Global) Dec. 13 -- Cooper Tire & Rubber, a well-known US tire maker  and supplier and Chinese tire maker Qingdao, Shandong province-based  Sailun Jinyu Group will form a joint venture to build a plant in Vietnam with an  annual output of over 2 million truck and bus radial tires, aiming to avoid trade  barrier risks and improve tire supply capacity.

The two firms released their statements on the investment yesterday.

The pair will build the facility at the site of Sailun Jinyu's existing operations near Vietnam's capital of Ho Chi Minh City. Construction of the plant is expected to begin early next year with tire production commencing in the first half of 2020, per the statement.

The two sides present varying estimates of the total investment in the project in their separate statements, with Cooper Tire anticipating USD220 million to USD240 million and Sailun Jinyu projecting USD280 million.

The JV has a registered capital of USD140 million, of which Sailun Jinyu's wholly-owned Vietnam unit invested USD91 million and holds 65 percent of the shares while Findlay, Ohio, US-based Cooper Tire's local wholly-owned unit owns 35 percent at USD49 million. Both chairman and general manager of the JV will be representatives nominated by Sailun Jinyu's Vietnam unit.

Sailun Jinyu has a tire manufacturing base in Vietnam and the new plant will expand its production scale there, boost the overall competitiveness of its products, and enhance the firm's ability to overcome international trade barriers, according to Sailun's statement.

Cooper Tire & Rubber is a multinational company specialized in the design, manufacture and sale of all types of automotive tires.

Editor: Ben Armour