Hyundai Elevator Co., South Korea's largest lift producer, said Tuesday it will expand its overseas presence as part of its ongoing efforts to increase exports and sales.

The company, which accounted for 45.3 percent of all new lifts installed in buildings in the country last year, said it secured a 100 percent stake in its Shanghai Hyundai Elevator Co. affiliate, giving it a firm market presence in the world's biggest elevator market.

The Chinese market is estimated to be worth 500,000 units a year. Hyundai's share in the company that opened in 1993 was at 84 percent before the stake purchase.

"In the past, a lot of elevators made at Shanghai Hyundai were exported to Southeast Asia and the Middle East, but starting this year, emphasis will be placed on making greater inroads into the Chinese domestic market," a company source said. He added that increasing market presence could include building of a second factory in China.

The company said its goal for 2014 is to sell 9,610 elevators in China, up 25 percent from 7,687 units sold last year.

Hyundai Elevator, in addition, said its first lift manufacturing plant in Brazil will be completed in late March, which will allow it to make inroads into the fast growing market currently controlled by such brands as Otis, ThyssenKrupp and Schindler. The three companies together hold 90 percent market share in Brazil.

Hyundai said it sold 310 elevators last year in the South American country, with the target for 2014 raised to 700.

The plant in Sao Leopoldo, a city in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, covers 80,799 square meters and has a factory and an administrative building.

Besides these expansions, Hyundai Elevator plans to increase it overseas corporate branches from the current seven to 10.

It already has affiliates in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Brazil and Vietnam, with new corporate bodies to be set up in Tunisia, Turkey and Myanmar this year. It also has sales representative offices in 57 countries worldwide.

The company said such expansions will help the company increase its position in these markets as well as look for new opportunities, particularly in the Middle East.

"Hyundai is very much interested in such markets as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq," another company insider said.

The company said for this year, it aims to secure overseas orders topping $190 million, up 25 percent from last year, with actual sales set at $173 million, which represents a 15 percent on-year increase.

On the domestic front, the company wants to win 1.2 trillion won ($1.12 billion) in new orders. In January, it received 116 billion won in orders. (Yonhap)