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Chinese food manufacturer sees bright future on Australian shores

Chinese food manufacturing company, Bright Foods has expressed interest in Australia as a potential manufacturing base as part its global growth strategy to cater for growing demand from Asian markets.

The state-owned company considers Australia a market place for its wine, sugar and dairy products as well as a platform to increase the manufacturer of these products.

Chairman Wang Zongnan said Australia is full of opportunities for Bright Foods Company, drawing on the fact that Australia is the largest global supplier of sugar outside Brazil, at a meeting in Sydney on Wednesday (August 31, 2011).

Zongnan’s visit follows Bright Foods’ acquisition of 75% equity stake in Australia’s leading independent grocery importer Manassen Foods Australia.

The first priority is to make Manassen Foods operational and gain entry into the Chinese market, Zongnan said, and then the food manufacturer will then focuses on acquisitions across Australia.

The long-term plan is to create a food group that owns multiple international brands through the process of acquiring controlling stake in multiple international companies.

Zongnan said the plan is to identify mature brands that have abundant resources in the food industry, buy that brand and take the products to the Chinese market; which companies Bright Foods would target will depend whether there is demand for that product in the target market.

Zongnan said company will raise funds through an IPO (initial public offering) of its sugar unit expected to be announced at the end of the year 2011. He is also working on closing a bond deal that will rise close to US $470 million.

The part-acquisition in Manassen Foods follows several bids by the Chinese company to acquire overseas holdings in food companies.

Bright Foods, China’s second-largest food company, was unsuccessful in its bid to buy 50% stake in Yoplait, French yogurt maker in March this year.

Other unsuccessful bids by the company include Britain’s United Biscuits and the US vitamin retailer GNC Holdings. The bids were made in late 2010.

The company twice bid for the sugar division of CSR unsuccessfully loosing out to Wilmar International in 2009.

Image: Bright Foods

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