A Maltese company will be promoting a Chinese bus-making company in the UK market after the bus was given certification by the British authorities.

BIE Malta Ltd, a partner of King Long, will gear its entire sales network to promoting King Long’s bus line in Europe, BIE Malta Ltd managing director Christopher Cassar told China Daily.

A British official said King Long will soon sign an agreement with BIE Malta Ltd to sell buses in Britain, with the next target being Italy.

On Thursday, King Long Bus, based in Xiamen in Fujian Province, became China’s first firm to be granted VCA certification by the British authorities – the key to entering the European market.

“This honour marks a milestone in the history of China’s bus manufacturing industry,” said Mick Deakin, a type approval engineer for the UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), Midlands Centre.

As a VCA engineer, Mr Deakin travels the world approving all manner of vehicles, from motor-cycles to large military trucks.

“With VCA certification, King Long can now compete on level terms with buses and coaches manufactured within the EU,” Mr Deakin said.

King Long United Automotive Industry Co Ltd vice president Xu Xiang-dong said the company is enlarging its production capacity through heavy investment.

“The VCA certification is a passport for us to go into Europe and realize our global strategy,” he said.

To see this objective through, the firm will complete its first-phase technical expansion project by the end of 2005, which involves 260 million yuan ($31.5 million) in investment. Upon completion, King Long will be able to manufacture 6,000 vehicles annually.

Its second phase project will swallow 200 million yuan ($24.2 million) in investment and an area of 150,000 to 200,000 square metres.

The goal of this phase is to add 7,000 vehicles to the company’s capacity by the end of next year, said Xu.

“Our buses can compete on level terms with Volvo in Europe on price,” he said.

A Volvo bus in Europe costs about 3 million yuan ($363,196), while a King Long bus is priced just above one million yuan ($121,065), he told China Daily.

“For many years, products from Asia have faced the stigma of being considered second rate. But from what I have seen of China, this view is unjustified,” said Mr Deakin.