‘Assembly possible in two years’

FOCUS Ventures, Inc., the local distributor of Chinese automotive brand Chana, may invest $8 million on a Philippine assembly plant if domestic sales go up significantly, an executive told reporters yesterday.

“Our principal is pushing us [to put up a factory] but we said, ‘hold it,’” Focus Ventures President Stephen D. Sy said at the sidelines of a motorshow media launch.

Sales will have to hit 100 units a month before assembly operations here are deemed feasible, Mr. Sy said.

The two-year-old firm vehicle distributor so far averages 30 units a month in sales, he said.

Focus Ventures enjoys a niche in the low-cost commercial vehicle segment with the P280,000 “multi-carry one” compact truck enjoying the most demand.

The vehicle sales target that will trigger the investment will hopefully be achieved “in one or two years,” Mr. Sy said. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, Businessworld