February 23, 2016

New Hope to invest US$1.35 billion in pig farming

In a Chinese disclosure document, New Hope Group Co., Ltd. plans to invest RMB8.8 billion (US$1.35 billion) in swine farming in the next three to five years, potentially making the company the biggest pig production company in China.

New Hope says the investment is part of a diversification plan to expand the company's businesses from animal feed to food and other agriculture categories.

The company has also agreed to acquire, for RMB616 million, a Shaanxi province-based pig farming company Benxiang Agriculture, which produced over 200,000 pigs last year. New Hope currently owns swine production companies in Hebei, Sichuan and Shandong provinces.

Within five years, the company is aiming for an annual production of 10 million pigs by its own farms and affiliated family farms.

China's swine production sector is highly fragmented, with only one company, Guangdong Wen's Foodstuffs Group Co., Ltd., having an annual production capacity exceeding 10 million head.