Japan’s Daihatsu Motor Co said today it would spend about 15 billion yen (US147 million) to build a new engine production factory in Malaysia.

The plant will be operated by a new company to be jointly established by Daihatsu and a local holding company in which the Japanese carmaker has a stake, it said.

Daihatsu, a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp, said the plant would begin operation in mid-2016 and produce 140,000 engines per year.

The company said it is ramping up efforts to enhance local operations in the South-East Asian country, which it considers to be a key base for its overseas business.

- dpa