Beijing - Executives of the Chinese lorry manufacturer Beiqi Foton said Wednesday they expected an envisaged joint venture with German concern Daimler to be launched in August, a year after the two sides signed a letter of intent on the project.

After a board meeting Foton said that they expect that within three years' time the joint venture compnay would be producing 100,000 medium-sized and heavy-duty lorries.

The 50-50 joint venture plans foresee Daimler investments of around 2.8 billion yuan (410 million dollars) in the project, half of the joint venture's registered capitalisation of
5.6 billion yuan.

The two companies last August had signed a letter of intent to establish the Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Company Ltd. (dpa)