Chinese bus and automotive company Zhengzhou Yutong Group says its revenues from African countries could fall by up to 40% in the 2009 fiscal year as financial crisis hits demand.

Zhengzhou Yutong Group General Manager Wang Xiang said revenues from Africa would likely be about $60 million to $80 million in the current fiscal year, which ends in February.

"We see revenues averaging between $60-80 million by the end of 2009, a decrease of 30%-40% because of the financial crisis," Wang Xiang told Dow Jones Newswires during the opening ceremony of the Forum On China African Cooperation, in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh.

Xiang said the company usually sells 1,000 buses to Africa annually.

China's investment in Africa has grown sharply in recent years as Beijing catches up with Western companies already established on the continent.