Chery denies an imminent listing plan

"Chery need funds to further support product development and feed its ambitious overseas expansion. We will only consider listing plans when all the conditions are favorable, "said Qin Lihong, vice general manager of Chery's marketing company.

However,  an auto analyst says Chery will be able to apply for a listing as early as 2008, while Li Feng, Chery's vice president and general manager of sales and service division, said the company will go public within the next two or three years.

'We do have such a listing plan, though I don't have an exact timetable. We still have to ask permission from the authorities,' said Zhou Biren, the company's vice president, adding that he did not know if the initial public offering would be in an overseas or a domestic market.

"In 2007 we will export 100,000 cars, and we plan to sell one million cars at home and abroad, annually by 2010." Zhou said.

The auto maker has an annual capacity of 400,000 units and expects to add another 250,000-300,000 units after a new plant starts operation in October.