FRANKFURT, Aug 23 (Reuters) - The head of German tyre and car parts maker Continental AG was quoted on Saturday as saying his company was looking to take an interest in a Chinese company and aimed for other acquisitions as well.
"It is obvious that we are thinking about external growth, now that we have the financial possibilities. A candidate could be in the electronics sector," Chief Executive Manfred Wennemer was quoted in an interview by Germany's Welt am Sonntag, released ahead of publication due Sunday.
"We are now intensively looking for a partner in China. We also want to buy more within (the area of low tech unit) ContiTech, if the constellation is right," he added.
Continental, to be reincluded in Germany's DAX blue chip index after seven years of absence next month, has said it expected more growth in Asia this year, particularly in China, where it leads the market for passenger car brake systems.
But the world's fourth-largest tyre maker was not interested in making acquisitions in the United States, Wennemer said, as it first wanted to lower production costs there, improve marketing, and introduce successful products from Europe.
"We do not plan (acquisitions in the United States) at the moment. We must first solve our problems there," Wennemer told the newspaper.
Solid demand for Continental's high-margin car electronics has largely insulated the company from the car sector malaise that other tyremakers have suffered from.
While car demand in the United States and Europe is lower than last year, Continental boosted profits in the first half of this year and expects an operating result of more than 700 million euros this year, compared with 694 million euros in 2002.
Continental's Automotive Systems unit -- which specialises in safety electronics and engine management systems -- now made up 42 percent of the company's sales, and that might rise to 50 percent in the next two to three years, Wennemer said.
He also said the company had had no difficulty in securing a 1.5 billion euros syndicated loan recently, and that it was still on track to reach its target of reducing its debt pile to a level equal to its own capital resources by year-end.