FFWD.L Regulatory News (FFWD)

11 Jan 2007 07:00

London Asia Chinese Private Equity11 January 2007 11 January 2007 London Asia Chinese Private Equity Fund Limited ("LACPEF" or "the Fund") Investee company update LACPEF, the China focused investment fund, announces that its investee companyCanmake Business Ltd ("Canmake") has signed a significant new joint venture withBaoyi Can Making Corp ("Baoyi"). The Fund is also pleased to provide an updateon China CDM Exchange Centre Ltd ("CCEC" or "the Company"), another of itsinvestee companies. Canmake Major New Venture Baoyi is part of the Baosteel Group, one of the largest steel companies in theworld and ranked 296 in the Fortune 500 list of top companies in the world.Founded in 1996 as the metal packing arm of Baosteel, Baoyi was the firstSino-foreign supplier of two-piece beverage cans in China. Its core shareholdersare Baosteel, Sollac Steel Group of France, and Corus Group. Baoyi's currentdrinks can capacity of 1.2 billion cans is among the largest in China, providingcans for leading beverage brand names, including Coca-Cola and Tsingtao Beer. Baoyi will order at least 1.5 billion can lids per annum, equal to some £19million of turnover, from the new joint venture. Production is planned to beginin Q4 2007. Baoyi has a 15% share in the joint venture, with an option toincrease its holding to 30%. Reynold Wong, CEO of Canmake, said "The alliance with Baoyi, one of China'slargest can body providers, is a significant win for the company, anddemonstrates our engineering excellence and experience in metal closuresolutions. This contract will further strengthen the market position of Canmakein the beverage metal packaging sector." Simon Littlewood, executive director of the Fund, said: "Canmake made profits ofover £4 million to June 2006, and this new venture could significantly add toprofits going forward. We are currently working with the company with a view toassisting it to list on an international stock exchange later this year toprovide additional capital to enable it to continue its expansion." CCEC Update CCEC has made substantial progress with its existing portfolio of projects. Ithas also signed agreements for 20 new projects amounting to over 400 milliontones of contracted CO(2) of over a 21-year crediting period. The Company has a strong presence in China and is established in over 10provinces. Its relationships with major Chinese power producers has allowed theCompany to maintain a high level of independent deal flow, with furtheropportunities coming through its' partnerships with the State Grid Corporationand China Southern Power Grid Corporation, both Global Fortune 500 companies.Other partners on the emission sell side include GD Power Development Co., Ltd.,China Yangtze Power Co. Ltd., and CNOOC Gas & Power Ltd., all of which areleading operators in China's energy market. CCEC has also entered into anexclusive partnership with leading Asian buyers of GHG emissions, such as Mitsui& Co. and Tokyo Electric Power Company, to offer cost effective solutions forcompliance with their emission reduction requirements. Mr Kang Zheng, CEO of CCEC, said: 'CCEC has passed the 400 million ton milestonefrom the projects that we are developing, and there are a number of new projectsin the pipeline. The 20 contracted projects in our portfolio are expected tocontribute £3.5m to net profit for 2007." For further information please visit www.londonasiafunds.com or contact: John West/Matt Ridsdale Simon Littlewood Hugh FieldTavistock Communications London Asia Capital Collins Stewart LimitedTel: 020 7920 3150 Tel: 020 7355 7928 Tel: 020 7523 8000 About Canmake Business Ltd. Founded in 2001, Canmake is a manufacturer of can-lids, pull-tab ends, caps,closures and other metal packaging products serving the fast growing Chinesebeverage and food industries. Canmake sells over 150 million lids a month, andgenerated profits of £4.2 million for the year ended 30 June 2006, showinggrowth of over 60%. The Fund invested £4.9 million for a 20% stake in September2006. About CCEC: China CDM is a Jersey incorporated company providing brokerage, advisory andresearch services relating to the reduction of greenhouse gases ("GHGs") inAsia. It works with businesses and projects that generate carbon credits, andassists the project owner to identify buyers for, and sell on, those carboncredits. The Company operates within the framework of the Clean Development Mechanism("CDM") of the Kyoto Protocol, established under the auspices of the UnitedNations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Protocol commits countriesto reducing their emissions of GHGs by pre-determined amounts or to compensatefor maintained or higher GHGs emissions via emissions trading. Additional information is available at www.chinacdmex.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange