Ashok Leyland to set up joint venture in South Africa

16 Oct 2007

Mumbai: Ashok Leyland Ltd, India''s second largest truck maker, is planning a joint venture with a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) partner to introduce products like 4x4s and luxury buses in South Africa.

Under the arrangement, the South African partner would own 49 per cent stake in the new company, which would run assembly line plants in Durban and Centurion, near here, ''Pretoria News'' a local daily reported.

Ashok Leyland, the flagship company of Hinduja Group, started trading in South Africa six years ago, but the operations are yet to be profitable. It has a warehouse in Johannesburg, it said.

The South African government launched the BEE programme to redress inequalities of apartheid by giving underprivileged groups economic opportunities.