PROTON ASSERTS PRESENCE IN SYRIA

DAMASCUS (Syria), Jan 30 (Bernama) -- Proton Holdings Bhd is strengthening its presence in the Middle East market, with the launch of the Persona model, is expected to boost the national car maker's overall sales in Syria to over 5,000 units in the next three to five years.

Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir said though the
global economy had weakened significantly, the company was optimistic it could
offer a more viable option through Persona -- the fifth Proton model to be
introduced after Waja, Wira, Arena and Gen-2.

"We have been selling our cars in Syria since 2001 and after Gen-2, we are
optimistic on how the Syrian market will accept the Persona, which has won many
customers for being cost-effective with better fuel economy," he told a media
conference before the launch here Thursday night.

Proton first entered the Syrian market via a sole distributorship agreement
with a Syrian company, Modern Technology Trading Company, a subsidiary of Habbal
Group of Syria.

The company, headed by Habbal Group chairman and chief executive officer
Ghyath Al Habbal, holds distributorship rights for Proton cars in Syria, Iraq
and Lebanon.

Syed Zainal said the first batch of Persona for the Syrian cluster -- Syria,
Iraq and Lebanon -- was delivered late last year and had sold well with bookings
already being made for the coming shipment via Tartus, a port town on the
Mediterranean coast 220km northwest of here.

Voted "Car of the Year for Malaysia" at the Frost & Sullivan Automotive
Awards for Southeast Asia last year, the price range is between 800,000-850,000
Syrian pounds.

He was confident Proton could meet its sales volume target of over 5,000
cars, including Persona, in the next three to five years, especially as the
Middle East has been identified as one of the key markets in its Asian
Multi-Local OEM (AMLO) strategy besides Asean, China and India.

So far, the company has sold more than 6,000 Proton cars in Syria, with more
than 1,600 units last year, the highest annual sales record since 2001.

"We have always been guided by the philosophy of building the right car at
the right time and at the right price.

"I believe Proton's current offering -- Persona and Gen-2 -- fit the
criteria," he said, alluding to the current global recession, which gave the
company an opportunity to be in a better position to improve its market share in
the Middle East.

With Malaysia's strong ties with countries in the region, he said, the
Middle East was an important left-hand-drive market for Proton, expected to
launch its next model line-ups -- Saga by mid-year and Proton MPV (multi-purpose
vehicle) by late next year.

Meanwhile, Al Habbal said a new 3S (sales, service, spare parts) service
centre in Tartus will serve as a pre-delivery, inspection and parts distribution
centre for the Al Habbal Group.

Currently, Proton operations are being supported by its distribution network
of 10 branches and dealerships in major Syrian cities, including the US$22
million platinum service centre in Aleppo and another outlet here.

He said the Persona launch was significant to Modern Technology Trading
Company as it was the second biggest event for the company after the official
opening of its Damascus showroom in 2003 by former Prime Minister Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad.

The launch was witnessed by Malaysian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammed Ab
Halim Ab Rahman, Indonesian Ambassador to Syria M. Muzammil Basyuni, Indian
Ambassador to Syria Gautam Mukhopadhaya and Pakistani Ambassador to Syria Manzaq
Shafik.

Last year, the model was launched in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Oman, Qatar and
Bahrain as part of the series of Persona launches by Proton in the Middle East.
-- BERNAMA