(Dec 16): Ningbo Deye Technology Co, a Chinese inverter producer, plans to invest up to US$150 million (RM667.5 million) in building a solar equipment manufacturing base in Malaysia.

The company will set up a subsidiary in the Southeast Asian country and plans to make photovoltaic equipment and energy storage products there, it said in an exchange filing in Shanghai on Monday. The investment needs approvals from both the Chinese and Malaysian governments, it added.

“With constant changes in the international situation and trade environment, the necessity of overseas capacity is increasingly urgent. Setting up a subsidiary in Malaysia will help the company further expand into overseas markets and respond to potential adverse impacts of the macro environment and international trade in a more flexible manner,” the company said.

Chinese firms have been tapping Southeast Asian countries to circumvent US restrictions on their products, but Washington has also imposed duties on panels from the region to protect its own industry.

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