According to foreign media reports, the tire factory built by Sailun Group in the Teda Industrial Zone of the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt welcomed the roll-off of its first tire recently and entered the trial operation phase. This factory, with an initial investment of $804 million and covering an area of 400,000 square meters, is expected to provide over 3,000 direct jobs and plans to achieve full commercial operations in early 2027.

Three Additions, Investment Amount Doubled

Since signing the investment contract in August 2025, Sailun has successively increased investment in the Egypt project three times, raising the cumulative investment amount from less than $300 million to about $1.7 billion: In September 2025, investment totaled $291.48 million at the groundbreaking ceremony, with a planned annual production of 3.6 million radial tires; In April 2026, an additional $285.43 million was invested, adding 7.05 million tires of capacity; In June 2026, another $1.14131 billion was invested. The final plan is to form an annual production capacity of 27 million semi-steel tires, 1.65 million all-steel tires, and 20,000 tons of off-highway tires, and Egypt will also become Sailun's largest single overseas manufacturing base globally.

Sailun's November investor conference call minutes show that the Egypt factory is currently in the equipment break-in and quality inspection phase, with small-batch production within this year and next year being the main period for volume release. Analyst reports estimate that the combined capacity of Phase I and II totals 10 million semi-steel tires and 1.65 million all-steel tires, with plans to rapidly increase volume in Q2 2027. After the project reaches full capacity, annual revenue is expected to be $1.161 billion and annual net profit $170 million.

Not Just Building a Factory, But Also a "Stepping Stone"

Unlike the previous wave of Southeast Asia layout focusing on raw material cost calculations, this time Sailun's move to Egypt focuses on market access: the local free trade network covers the European Union, the African Continental Free Trade Area, and the Middle East market simultaneously. Tires meeting rules of origin can enjoy completely different tariff conditions compared to direct exports from China. Additionally, with the factory located next to the Suez Canal, the logistics radius for shipments to Southern Europe, the Middle East, and East Africa is significantly shortened.

Sailun disclosed that current EU orders far exceed its existing overseas semi-steel capacity, and the Egypt base will undertake a large volume of spillover orders. This is also Sailun's fifth overseas factory after Vietnam, Cambodia, Mexico, and Indonesia.

One Factory Drives One Supply Chain

Sailun's move also drove the collaborative going global of the industrial chain: Zhongtian Steel's $300 million steel cord project landed in the Teda Cooperation Zone, and Haomei Group's $100 million tire mold base is progressing synchronously. According to statistics, the total announced investment of the Chinese-funded tire industry chain in Egypt has exceeded 30 billion RMB. However, Egypt imports nearly 8 million tires annually, with a value of about $1.25 billion, clearly visible demand gap.

From the first tire roll-off to full production in 2027, Sailun is converting local policy dividends into actual competitiveness. With capacity ramping up and orders landing, this global largest overseas base is expected to become a new benchmark for Chinese tires going global.