Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Co. is teaming up with major French auto lease firm ALD SA to launch a car leasing joint venture in Malaysia.

The two partners will offer high-end transportation services as well as leasing multi-brand motor vehicles, Mitsubishi UFJ Lease said in a statement released Monday.

The deal marks the first collaboration between a member of the giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and ALD under the wing of major French bank Societe Generale SA as they prepare to establish a joint business platform in Southeast Asia.

The joint venture aims to combine Mitsubishi UFJ Lease's expertise in Thailand, Indonesia and other Asian countries with ALD's business know-how in more than 40 countries.

The joint venture will focus on business-to-business relations with local firms as well as Japanese companies operating in Indonesia, a Mitsubishi UFJ Lease spokesman told NNA on Monday. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire