CITIC Provident Management Ltd., a private equity unit of China's largest financial conglomerate CITIC Group, said Tuesday it bought a 45 percent stake of Shinwa International Holdings Ltd. to help the Japanese firm expand further on the Chinese mainland.

CITIC did not disclose any financial figure, but said it made the investment through its CITIC Japan Partners fund, which was established this year to help Japanese companies expand their operations in China, where manufacturing costs were currently comparatively low.

Shinwa, which focuses on developing and marketing car radio parts, has 10,000 employees on the Chinese mainland. It had its core design and sales team in Japan and posted a revenue of more than US$500 million last year, said CITIC Provident, which manages more than US$250 million in committed capital.

"Shinwa is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the growing trend of global car audio companies outsourcing their design and manufacturing to China," said Brian Doyle, president of CITIC Provident.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies