HAIER Group Corp yesterday said its overseas sales, including exports, in 2007 may rise by between 20 percent and 30 percent to as much as US$5 billion, a growth that will bolster its profits.

Sales inside China may increase at the same pace to US$10 billion this year, said Haier's Vice President Zhou Yunjie, in an interview with Bloomberg News in Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province yesterday. "America will contribute the most to the overseas sales growth, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific," Zhou said, declining to give additional financial details.

Increasing sales abroad will bolster the profit margins, which have been eroded by rising output costs, of China's largest maker of home appliance.

In the first-quarter, costs rose 36 percent from a year ago at Haier's Shanghai-listed unit Qingdao Haier Co as demand for materials such as copper and steel surged.

The company pulled out of a bid to buy US appliance maker Maytag Corp in 2005. Haier reported 2006 revenue of 108 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) while gross profit was 405.6 million yuan, according to the Ministry of Information Industry.