China's COFCO Capital draws new state, private shareholders

Reuters| 22 August 2017

China's COFCO Capital draws new state, private shareholders

A group of state and private companies will invest a total of 6.9 billion yuan ($1.04 billion) in COFCO Capital, a subsidiary of state-run agribusiness COFCO Group, according to a notice published on Monday on a state investment platform.

COFCO is currently restructuring its business as part of wide-ranging reforms of China's state-owned companies.

Part of the overhaul includes introducing mixed ownership into its 18 subsidiaries and listing more of its divisions on public markets.

COFCO Capital's new shareholders include state-run investors such as the State-owned Enterprise Structural Adjustment Fund and Beijing Capital Agribusiness Group, as well as privately-owned Guangdong Wen's Foodstuff Group, according to the statement on the website of China Chengtong Group, a state investment platform that partly owns the State-owned Enterprise Structural Adjustment Fund.

That fund has injected 800 million yuan into COFCO Capital, according to the statement.

"This is a partnership of state and private sectors, agricultural and financial investors which will better serve COFCO's global agricultural supply chain," said the statement.

Guangdong Wen's Foodstuff Group (300498.SZ), China's top farmer, disclosed in June a plan to invest between 800 million yuan ($117.70 million) and 1 billion yuan in COFCO Capital.

($1 = 6.6565 Chinese yuan renminbi)