IFE Elevator lifts expansion outlook

The company is planning to open a branch in Sri Lanka, where the economy picked up after the end of its civil war in 2009 and where demand has been increasing in recent years, Xin said. It also is assessing the possibility of running a plant there.

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, IFE Elevator has acquired land for building a plant in Hebi, in Central China's Henan province, which is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2016 to serve mainly the northern part of the country.

Domestic manufacturers have enlarged their share of the competitive domestic market to more than 30 percent, Xin said.

IFE Elevator recently completed the process of becoming a shareholding company, which Xin said would help regulate corporate governance, enhance its brand and step up spending on research and development.

Domestic manufacturers now have more say in international matters, according to a report by Forward Intelligence. More than 624,000 units of elevators were produced in China last year, up 18 percent year-on-year, with 15 percent increase in growth forecast for this year.

The domestic elevator market is expected to account for about half of the global market, and Chinese exports are forecast to make up about one-third of global share within five years.

Amid the strengthening recovery of the world economy, the possible appreciation of the Chinese currency should have cast a minor impact on exports, analysts say.

He Baoqi contributed to this story.

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