WICL forms trade zone joint venture
WINSOR Industrial Corporation (WICL), a textile marketing company, has formed a joint venture with a mainland company to facilitate listings on the mainland and overseas.
The joint venture is the second linking WICL with Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone Development General Corp.
Zhangjiagang is situated on Changjiang River Delta in Jiangsu province.
Total investment in the new venture was US$30 million, with WICL taking 51 per cent, said C Y Kwok, a spokesman for WICL.
The joint venture would be a fund-raiser for development of the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, and act as an agent for registration of enterprises in the zone, said Mr Kwok.
He held trade discussions in Hong Kong yesterday with Hu Jianpeng, mayor of the Zhangjiagang People's Government.
Mr Hu said the joint company planned to seek A share and B share listings after three years. Applications were in progress.
About two-thirds of warehouses in the trade zone were constructed by the joint venture companies, he said.
Other co-operative projects between them included a management centre, a products trading market, the Nan Kong Building, and property developments.
Planned area of the trade zone was 4.1 square kilometres, with its port reaching an annual capacity of 15 million tons, ranking it as the sixth largest cargo terminal in China.
The capacity of the port was targeted to reach 20 million tons by 2000 to make it the nation's third or fourth largest.
All foreign currencies were allowed to circulate in the zone and foreign enterprises were not required to convert incoming funds to yuan, said Mr Hu.
All raw materials, parts and components for products to be exported were free from tax, and this applied also to processed products intended for export.
