KUALA LUMPUR (March 4): Electrical home appliance distributor Fiamma Holdings Bhd (KL:FIAMMA) said its partnership with Zhuhai Samyou Environmental Technology Co Ltd (Samyou) announced last September will proceed with the Chinese company managing the air conditioning manufacturing operations under its own entity and resources.

Fiamma, on its part, will focus on the sales and distribution of the "Vino" brand products in Malaysia through the joint-venture company, Vino Air-Conditioning (M) Sdn Bhd.

"This decision allows each party to focus on its core strengths while preserving the integrity of our strategic partnership," said Fiamma in a bourse filing on Tuesday.

Fiamma had signed a memorandum of understanding with Guangdong-based Samyou to establish the partnership for expanding into the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) business through Vino Air-Conditioning, with Fiamma holding a 70% equity stake and Samyou's subsidiary Great Trillion Investment Ltd holding the remaining 30% stake.

Samyou specialises in HVAC for residential, commercial and industrial markets, and is known for its "Vino" air conditioning brand.

"This marks a significant milestone in our collaboration and reinforces our commitment to capturing market opportunities in this growing industry," said Fiamma in its filing. "Both parties remain committed to leveraging their respective strengths through Fiamma's robust market presence and Samyou’s product expertise in order to drive long-term success in the HVAC business."

Fiamma shares closed up one sen or 0.9% at RM1.08, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM572.6 million. The counter remained flat for this year.