P. M. BRIEFING : $1 Billion for China Auto Venture

A $1-billion infusion is putting Panda Motor Corp., China’s largest foreign-funded investment project, on track to begin auto production by the end of next year, an official news report said today.

American Panda Motor Co., which is affiliated with South Korea’s Unification Church, is investing $1 billion in the project, which will produce 300,000 cars a year--all for export--by 1995, the People’s Daily said.

American Panda Motor has its head office in Arlington, Va. One of its main backers is Charles Kim, a Korean-American who formerly was with the U.S. Small Business Administration, according to officials in Beijing and Canton.

Little else is known about American Panda, the officials say.

“They’re tied in with the Tong-il (Unification) Group,” said a foreign commercial official in Beijing. The Tong-il Group is headed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, leader of the wealthy Unification Church of South Korea.