SsangYong Motor Co., South Korea's sport utility vehicle maker, said on Wednesday it was targeting a

20.8 percent rise in 2007 sales due to higher exports.  SsangYong said in a filing to the Korea Exchange

that it aimed for 3.6 trillion won ($3.89 billion) in sales for this year.  That compared to a forecast of 3.48

trillion won from nine analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.  SsangYong said its estimated sales for 2006

were 2.98 trillion won, 13.3 percent down from 3.44 trillion in 2005, after a strike staged by its unionised workers.

SsangYong also said it aimed to sell 153,500 vehicles in 2007, up 29.7 percent from 121,196 units last year.

The company expects this year's exports to grow 34.1 percent with sales of partially-completed car kits up

about 160 percent.  In October, SsangYong said it had agreed to supply Russia's Severstal-Avto with 1.32

trillion won worth of vehicle component kits.  Shares in SsangYong ended up 2.32 percent at 5,300 won,

outperforming a 1.81 percent fall in the broader market.  ($1=926.4 Won)

- Source from REUTERS (Jan 2nd, 2007)