Brazilian officials found 163 Chinese nationals working in "slavery-like conditions" at a construction site for a factory owned by Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD in Brazil's Bahia state, the local labor prosecutor's office said on Monday.

Last year, it announced that it would invest 3 billion reais ($484.2m) in Brazil to build an EV manufacturing plant. EV sales in China have been boosted by government subsidies. w

Brazilian prosecutors found that workers building a factory for Chinese automaker BYD in Camacari in Bahia state were subject to "degrading working conditions," with passports confiscated and parts of salaries retained.