Chinese dairy giant Yili's first major plant abroad was officially opened in New Zealand's South Island on November 25 with the announcement that the company will almost triple its investment in the factory by 2019.

Oceania Dairy Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, spent NZ$236 million ($185.14 million) constructing the factory in Glenavy, South Canterbury.

Yili also confirmed the company's plans to invest another NZ$400 million ($313.79 million) in the factory, which already produces infant formula, over the next five years.

More than 70 jobs had been created in stage one of the new plant, completed in September, and the plant processed 220 million liters of milk from 48 local farms in its first season, said Zhang Jianqiu, Executive President of Yili Group.

Yili, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, purchased Oceania in April 2013. The company's 2013 revenue of $7.6 billion makes it the 10th largest dairy company in the world.

Railway Exports

On November 25, China's CNR Changchun Railway Vehicles Co. Ltd. (CRC) signed an agreement with Malaysia's Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERL) to supply six sets of four-car trains to the line from Kuala Lumpur City Center to Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Boasting a maximum speed of 160km per hour, the train will be able to carry a maximum of 540 passengers on the 57 km-length line.

As Kuala Lumpur has a typical tropical climate, CRC will take into full account the local environment in designs to acclimate the trains to the high temperature and abundant rainfall. Moreover, these trains will be more energy efficient and are expected to be progressively delivered to ERL starting in May 2016.

CRC, founded in 1954, is a leading rail car producer with a diversified product portfolio including metro trains, light rail vehicles, monorail, passenger coaches, commuter trains and high speed trains.

Overseas Plant

Chinese motorcycle and automobile manufacturer Lifan Industry (Group) Co. Ltd. will build a car plant in one of the special economic zones in central Russia, a governmental agent said on November 25.

"By January 2015, Lifan plans to complete the project's paperwork," a governmental agent of Russian special economic zones said in a statement.

According to the statement, Lifan hopes to start production in the central Russian city of Lipetsk in April 2017 with an operation period of at least seven years.

Lifan inked a deal with Lipetsk regional administration in October on the investment of $300 million.

The plant is Lifan's first car plant with a complete assembly cycle in Russia. It is expected to create 1,500 jobs while producing 60,000 cars of different types annually.

Lifan currently occupies slightly over 1 percent of the Russian car market with nearly 22,000 cars sold in 2014. After the plant in Lipetsk starts production, Lifan's share might grow to 1.9 percent.