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.