BEIJING -- CSR Sifang Co said Saturday that the company has obtained a contract worth over 3.4 billion yuan ($539.68 million) to supply electric multiple unit train sets for Argentina.

The deal represents CSR's single largest rail equipment order in South America, the company said in a statement filed to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

CSR Sifang is expected to deliver the first batch of train sets in May 2014, with the remainder to be delivered in six months.

The EMU train sets will be used on the Sarmiento and Mitre train routes in Buenos Aires, the statement said.

CSR Sifang, based in the port city of Qingdao, is a subsidiary of China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation, the country's biggest train maker.

CSR's overseas orders increased substantially in 2012, as overseas demand for its products outstripped domestic demand. The total value of its overseas orders surged 148 percent year-on-year in 2012.