Malaysia to sell cars to Iraq

Malaysia to sell cars to Iraq

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia's national carmaker
Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Bhd. (Proton) will sign an agreement
soon to sell 5,000 units of its Wira model to Iraq, state Bernama
news agency said on Monday.

Proton is expected to sell the 1.5 litre Wira cars to the
Iraqi government at $5,735 each, Bernama said, quoting the
Malaysian ambassador to Iraq, Abdul Latif Awang.

Bernama said the sales would be covered by the United Nation's
oil-for-food deal.

The carmaker's operations director, Kisai Rahmat, visited
Baghdad in February to discuss details of the sale and is
expected to return to Iraq soon to sign the agreement.

Proton, which controls more than 60 percent of Malaysia's
passenger car market, is looking for new markets overseas to
boost sales even as an expected cut in protective tariffs in
Malaysia in 2004 threatens to hurt demand for locally-produced
vehicles.