Huatai Automobile Co. Ltd., a privately-owned maker of sports utility vehicles (SUVs), said it aimed to go public in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange next year.

The Beijing-headquartered company, a partner of South Korea��s Hyundai Motor under technical licensing deals, was preparing to establish a joint-stock unit to pave the way for its Hong Kong listing, Huatai was quoted by the China Daily as saying.

��We will depend on our strong performance and bumper profits to achieve our listing plan,�� the company said.

However, Huatai did not reveal the size of capital it plans to raise from the Hong Kong stock market.

Its sales jumped by 200 percent in the first 11 months of this year from a year earlier, Huatai said, without giving a specific figure.

The company, which sold 10,000 SUVs last year, produces its own brand Jitian and Hyundai's Terracan SUVs in its plant in East China's Shandong Province.

Analysts say Huatai's listing plan is in an attempt to win favor from Hyundai, which also has three other partners in China.

Hyundai runs another car joint venture with State-run Beijing Automotive Investment Co. Ltd.

Kia Motors, owned by Hyundai, has a car joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Corp. �� one of China's biggest automakers �� and Yueda Group, an industrial group in East China's Jiangsu Province.

Hyundai has also agreed with Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. in East China's Anhui Province to form a commercial vehicle joint venture.

Earlier this year, a Huatai official said the company expected to form a joint venture with Hyundai.

However, Huatai's joint venture plant with Hyundai will face hurdles from the country's new auto industry policy.

Source: Shenzhen Daily-Agencies