Hyundai Signs Deal to Invest in China Venture

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest auto maker, signed an agreement to invest $1.1 billion in a new auto venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co., joining the rush to tap the country’s rising auto demand.

The venture, split evenly between the two partners, will start work on a new plant next month to build as many as 500,000 cars a year in China by 2010.