An inclusive idealist. I am a Masters graduate from the University of Westminster. I’ve read over 1000 books, traveled to every province in China as a backpacker, and volunteered with several NGOs in Southeast Asia. I have many years of working experience as a journalist in the auto industry.
Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce released the “Catalogue of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment (2020 Version)”. The Chinese government hopes that foreign businessmen will invest in the industries listed in the document. The trade encouragement catalogue currently in use in China was released in 2020, and the 2022 version will come into force on 1 January 2023.
2022 has been a challenging year for the Chinese tyre industry. This year is coming to an end, but a feeling of anxiety is crossing regions and classes and spreads throughout the industry. From manufacturers to distributors, from vulcanisation workshop workers to corporate executives, many professionals are asking the question: Where is the future of China’s tyre industry?
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Shandong Province, one of the leading tyre production areas in China, is once again affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. On December 1, there were 41 new confirmed cases and 623 asymptomatic infections in this area. To ensure production can continue, two tyre companies have announced the implementation of closed-loop management.
On November 29, Toyo Tires issued a notice on its official Chinese website saying it will resume using the old Chinese brand name in the mainland market from 1 December. Both the old and new brand names are the Chinese translation of “Toyo Tires”. Toyo previously used this brand name in the Chinese market before 2015, subsequently changing its name to use the Chinese pronunciation of Toyo Tires to determine the new version of the brand and the company name.
On November 11, Shandong Province announced the ‘Action Plan for a Powerful Province of Advanced Manufacturing (2022-2025)’. The Shandong authority specifically emphasised in this guidance document the necessity to promote increased quality in the development of high energy consuming industries, including the tyre industry. In addition, the concepts of “intelligent upgrade”, “green transformation”, “service extension”, and “ecological agglomeration” mentioned in the Action Plan also set out a rough outline for the upgrade and development of tyre companies in Shandong Province in the next few years.
Recently, Guizhou Tyre (also known as Advance Tyre) disclosed utilising production capacity. In 2022, China has implemented relatively strict control measures against the epidemic, and the logistics are not smooth, which indirectly leads to weak demand for truck and bus tyres. Affected by the above factors, Guizhou Tyre’s domestic plant has a capacity utilisation rate of around 80 per cent for all-steel radial tyres. Over the same period, capacity utilisation for OTR tyres was about 95 per cent.
On 18 November, Federal Corporation stated that Chiang Ching Hsing, the company’s chairman and general manager, resigned. Chen Heng Kuan, who is also chairman and president of Nankang, held his position. According to analysts, both Chiang Ching Hsing and Chen Heng Kuan are representatives of Nankang Rubber on the Federal Corporation’s board of directors, and Chiang Ching Hsing’s departure will not bring about a massive change in Federal Corporation.
On 18 November, China Customs announced the export data for October. In October, China exported 41.19 million new pneumatic rubber tyres, down 16 per cent year-on-year. The weight of these tyres was 600,000 tons, down 1.5 per cent. During the same period, the total value of China’s tyre exports was 10.4 billion yuan (about £1.2 billion; 1.4 billion euros), an increase of 10.5 per cent.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has decided to file a case against Giti Tire Corporation (Giti Tire Corp). The tyre company is suspected of information disclosure violations. Giti Tire Corp has received an official notification from CSRC. Tyrepress notes a 22 September Shanghai Stock Exchange report detailing measures taken against the company as a result of such violatons: “In the last 12 months, we (the Shanghai Stock Exchange) imposed supervision on (Giti Tire Corp) for similar violations. (Giti Tire Corp) did not make timely rectifications and continued to carry out the same type of violations for a long time, and the circumstances were serious.”
On its 10 November board meeting, Aeolus approved a project with a total investment of 610 million yuan (about 73.12 million pounds, 82.93 million euros) at its manufacturing base in Jiaozuo, China. It is reported that the tyre company plans to increase the annual production capacity of 80,000 tyres through reconstruction, including giant tyres and engineering radial tyres. The construction period is expected to be 18 months.
On 10 November, Cheng Shin Rubber Ind., Co., Ltd. announced that it is preparing to increase the capital of PT. Maxxis International Indonesia by US$30 million (about £25.53 million pounds; 29.01 million euros). Cheng Shin Rubber said that the capital increase meets the operation’s needs.
On 11 November 2022, Chinese authorities issued a notice on how to proceed with the next phase of COVID-19 prevention and management. The statement’s content shows that the Chinese government is still adhering to the policy of “dynamic clearing”, but it has relaxed controls to a certain extent. And that’s good news for the tyre industry as one practitioner told us: “The fight against COVID-19 may not end in a short period in China. However, if the anti-epidemic policies in the next stage can reduce the negative impact on the economy, it will undoubtedly benefit China’s tyre industry.”
The expansion project of Kumho’s Vietnam plant has entered the final stage. It is reported that all administrative procedures related to the trial operation of the expansion project have been completed.
On November 2, Linglong held a performance presentation on the operation of the third quarter of 2022. Linglong chairman Wang Feng, board secretary Sun Songtao and heads of relevant departments attended the performance presentation and interacted with investors on Linglong’s business situation.
From January to October, Yanchang Rubber sold 3.759 million tyres. It is reported that the tyre company has undergone several reforms in 2022 and established three new departments in April, the all-steel radial tyre business department, the semi-steel radial tyre business department and the marketing centre.
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