Far East seeks 66b yuan for hybrids venture

HONG KONG: Far East Golden Resources Group Ltd, headed by Yang Rong, who fled China in 2002, is seeking 66 billion yuan to build hybrid cars in the country, a sum about 44-times its market capitalization.

Three China-listed companies have agreed to back the plan, and Far East is also in talks with private-equity firms, Yang, also known as Yeung Yung, told reporters in Hong Kong yesterday by videoconference from the US. The company will soon name the three listed backers, he said, without elaboration.

Far East plans to begin making hybrid cars as China supports alternative-energy vehicles to pare oil imports and reduce pollution. The company has announced plans for a possible 20 billion yuan investment in Shenyang and for a $7.8 billion project in Alabama in the US.