SAO PAOLO (AFP) -- Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer said Friday it plans to become the world leader in executive jets within the next decade by investing heavily to get a bigger slice of the rapidly expanding market.

The company, currently ranked as the sixth-biggest manufacturer of the planes used by the privileged, sees more than 13,000 of the jets being sold worldwide over the next 10 years, for a total value of 200 billion dollars.
The Embraer vice-president in charge of the executive jets division, Luis Carlos Affonso, told reporters the company was investing 1.15 billion dollars to meet its ambition.
Corporate jets, he said, ""are seen not only as luxury objects but also as an important business tool, and that's a rare combination,"" he said.
Recent economic growth, the rise in the number of millionaires in developing countries, congestion problems with commercial flights, and a change in the way private jets were regarded have all contributed to a boom in the sector, he said.
Embraer currently produces six jet models with prices ranging from 3.5 million dollars to 60 million dollars each.
It says its firm orders for 835 corporate jets, worth six billion dollars, account for nearly a third of the company's total order book.