KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Malaysia's national carmaker Proton's four billion-ringgit ($1.05 billion) plant in northern Perak state will roll out its first car in the second half of this year, the Bernama news agency reported on Monday.
A government official was quoted as saying that construction of the plant, which will be capable of producing 100,000 vehicles per year, was ahead of schedule and that the first car would be rolled out some time between June and September.
State-controlled Proton, heavily protected by government tariffs, controls about 60 percent of Malaysia's auto market, where a total of 333,754 units were sold in the first nine months of 2002.
The construction of the carmaker's Proton City factory was recently revived after work halted during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis.
Proton shares were five cents higher at 8.55 ringgit.