The former chairman of Brilliance China Automotive Holdings plans to invest 40 to 45 billion yuan ($5.86 billion to $6.59 billion) initially to set up a manufacturing base that can produce 3 million engines and 1 million vehicles, according to the Economic Observer.

 

The investment would focus on energy-saving cars with lower emissions and the first model would be launched in 2012, the newspaper said.

 

"We are in talks with five provincial governments about the investment and will make the final decision soon," Yang said.

 

He added that the manufacturing base would have an annual production capacity of 3 million vehicles with an output value of 1 trillion yuan and tax payments of 100 billion yuan over the next eight years. It would also provide 100,000 job opportunities for the local community.

 

But officials from Tieling Economic Development Zoom in Liaoning province, with whom Yang claimed his team has talked about a possible investment, told China Daily that they were not aware of Yang's plans.

 

Ranked by Forbes as the third-richest man in the country in 2001, Yang helped to restructure Brilliance from a stagnant State-owned automobile firm into the largest producer of mini-vans in the country. But Yang fled to the US in 2002 after becoming embroiled in some business disputes and being charged with economic crimes.

 

Yang said he plans to raise the investment from domestic and foreign investors.

 

Xu Changming, an automobile analyst with the State Information Center, said it is hard to predict whether Yang's plan would be successful. "It is very difficult to succeed according to his preliminary plan, but Yang has an excellent track record," he said.