EXPANDING its foothold in China, Filipino agri conglomerate Agrinurture Inc. (ANI) on Sunday said it acquired a majority stake in a China-based food and real-estate company for over P300 million, or 42 million renminbi.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), ANI said it entered into an agreement with Liang Shun-ming for the acquisition of the latter’s rights, title and interest in and to 49 percent of the total registered capital of Zongshan Fucang Trade Co. Ltd., a major rice and fruit trader based in Guangdong, China.
Liang is the registered owner of 90 percent of the total registered capital of Zongshan Fucang Trade Co. Ltd. The total transaction was about P308 million, or 42 million renminbi.
Based on the Deed of Assignment, ANI acquired all the rights, title and interest of Liang in and to 49 percent of the total registered capital of Zongshan Fucang Trade Co. Ltd., which is engaged in agriculture commodity trading, including investments in rural real-estate development, food terminal, cold- storage facilities and agriculture-trading platform.
Zongshan Fucang Trade Co. Ltd. indirectly owns 51 percent of Xuzhou Shengmei Century Property Co. Ltd., which has rural real-estate development in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China, valued at more than 200 million renminbi or almost P1.5 billion. It will be first agriculture-trading platform linking Northeast China to Southeast Asia since Xuzhou is a strategic trading hub of agricommodities in that region.
ANI’s acquisition of 49-percent interest in Zongshan Fucang Trade Co. Ltd. is expected to aid in the expansion of the Filipino firm’s trading business, as well as to develop a new distribution network in China.