The Beijing Sanyuan Group Co Ltd - a heavyweight firm in the capital - was formed yesterday seeking more outside investment to diversify its shareholding composition.
The company had undergone a three-year restructuring, shedding State dominance and changing its name from the Beijing Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Group.
Bao Zongye, board director of the new group, said clear ownership and better corporate governance have been established.
"This provides a platform for the State-owned company to attract investment from different areas," Bao said.
Sanyuan is a household brand of dairy products in China, manufactured by Beijing Sanyuan Food Co Ltd, a company of the group.
The dairy producer is expected to go public on the Chinese mainland by the end of this year following flotation in Hong Kong in 1997.
Bao said the group will apply a new brand strategy to include more varieties of products.
According to Bao, the group will specialize in three fields: refined agriculture based on seeding and breeding, food processing and real estate.
The group aims to foster 10 competitive companies with annual revenue exceeding 30 million yuan (US$3.62 million) and annual profit exceeding 3 million yuan (US$362,000).
Companies under the old group were small, scattered and relatively inefficient, according to Bao.
Restructuring has enabled the group to reorganize resources and expand, Bao said.
The group has also been established in accordance with a modern corporate system and this will help its sub-companies absorb new investors such as foreign ones, Bao said.
The company has good co-operation with many international giants.
A number of foreign brands, such as McDonald's, Starbucks, Baxy, Hormel and Kewpie, all have joint ventures with the group in Beijing.
Bao said the restructuring will change the group's focus to capital operation.
Bao said the group will invest 300 million yuan (US$36.25 million) to set up a science park on agriculture and forestry in Beijing.
The new group now has total assets of 9.3 billion yuan (US$1.12 billion), including 13 State farms, 18 specialized companies, 41 sino-foreign joint ventures and 5 overseas subsidiaries.
(China Daily October 17, 2002)
