https://www.scmp.com/rss/305984/feed US-based Smithfield Foods raises around 15 million pigs a year and processes 27 million, producing over six billion pounds of pork. In May 2012, Chinese meat company Shuanghui International made a US$4.7 billion offer for the company. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Khushboo Razdan Khushboo Razdan In 2025, even as US President Donald Trump sought to stabilise trade ties with Beijing, two Republican-led states were moving in the opposite direction, securing nearly US$50 billion in federal lawsuits for what they say was economic damage caused by China’s deliberate stripping of US hospitals and businesses of essential Covid-19 supplies. Using a new reading of the “commercial activity” exception to a 50-year-old US law that generally blocks lawsuits against foreign governments, a federal... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339384/why-lawsuits-wont-cure-pandemics-financial-ills-between-us-states-and-chinese-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3339384/why-lawsuits-wont-cure-pandemics-financial-ills-between-us-states-and-chinese-government?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:59:08 +0000 Zhang Shidong Zhang Shidong Smithfield Foods, the largest US pork processor and subsidiary of WH Group, has applied for a Nasdaq listing, as the Chinese parent moves to complete the spin-off announced six months ago. Smithfield has applied to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the stock code SFD in a filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday, its Chinese parent company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The US unit has decided neither on the fundraising... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3293726/wh-groups-us-pork-processing-unit-smithfield-files-nasdaq-listing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3293726/wh-groups-us-pork-processing-unit-smithfield-files-nasdaq-listing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jan 2025 07:52:17 +0000 Buying American farmland is not part of China’s current agricultural investment strategy, US lawmakers heard at a hearing by the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday. “We’re seeing investments in farmland in places in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, as well as Russia. But by and large, China’s foreign investments in farmland have bypassed North America,” said David Ortega, a professor and economist at Michigan State University. There was also “no clear evidence” that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3236046/buying-american-farmland-not-part-chinas-agricultural-investment-strategy-us-panel-told?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3236046/buying-american-farmland-not-part-chinas-agricultural-investment-strategy-us-panel-told?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Sep 2023 22:00:46 +0000 WH Group warned on Monday that the Ukraine-Russia war will push costs up and affect its profitability, after the world’s biggest pork producer reported a 7.2 per cent jump in profit for last year on higher sales. The company said it expected hog prices in the US to remain lower this year compared with last year, while in China it expects prices to remain low in the first half before trending higher in the second half. In Europe, however, it expects prices to remain high because of a range of... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3172167/wh-group-posts-72-cent-jump-2021-profit-higher-sales-outlook?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3172167/wh-group-posts-72-cent-jump-2021-profit-higher-sales-outlook?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 28 Mar 2022 12:38:04 +0000 WH Group, the world’s biggest pork producer, struck back a second time on Monday at allegations by a former director that shaved US$1.4 billion off its market value last week. The Hong Kong-listed company, which owns Smithfield Foods, reiterated that recent allegations by Wan Hongjian, one of the sons of its founder Wan Long, were “untrue and misleading” before offering a lengthy “clarification” of the accusations on Monday. It issued a separate statement denying the allegations on August... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3146044/wh-group-strikes-back-allegations-founders-son-shaved-us14?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3146044/wh-group-strikes-back-allegations-founders-son-shaved-us14?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Aug 2021 10:30:12 +0000 WH Group, the world’s largest pork producer, is coming under the media spotlight again as a new twist in the family feud shaved US$1.4 billion off its market value. One of the sons of its founder, who was stripped of his directorship in June, alleged that his father and the former finance chief took wrong financial decisions that led to losses at the company. WH Group denied the allegations. The feud dragged its Hong Kong-listed shares 11.3 per cent lower to HK$5.95 on Wednesday, the biggest... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3145523/wh-group-shares-sink-family-feud-escalates-son-levelling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3145523/wh-group-shares-sink-family-feud-escalates-son-levelling?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Aug 2021 13:00:18 +0000 WH Group, the world’s biggest pork producer, has removed the chairman’s son from the board and terminated his employment, citing his aggressive behaviour against the company. Wan Hongjian, 52, son of the chairman and CEO Wan Long, 80, was stripped on Thursday of his roles as executive director, deputy chairman and vice-president, based on the company’s “amended and restated” articles of association, it said in a filing to Hong Kong’s bourse. The company said that Wan was unable to fulfil his... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3137735/chinese-pork-giant-wh-group-fires-chairmans-son-board-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3137735/chinese-pork-giant-wh-group-fires-chairmans-son-board-over?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jun 2021 00:30:00 +0000 WH Group, the world’s largest pork producer, surged to a 14-month-high after the company offered as much as HK$14.95 billion (US$1.93 billion) to buy back 13 per cent of its capital at a premium as the stock underperformed the market in 2020 and this year. The stock rose 11 per cent to an intraday high of HK$7.54 on Monday, its highest level since April 2020, before closing at HK$7.33 on Monday. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.5 per cent on the same day. The share price rose after... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3136272/worlds-biggest-pork-producer-wh-group-makes-us193-billion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3136272/worlds-biggest-pork-producer-wh-group-makes-us193-billion?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jun 2021 00:15:06 +0000 US pork exports to China have surged beyond pre-trade war levels, led by higher shipments from Brazil’s JBS SA and China’s WH Group, owner of Smithfield Foods, according to Panjiva, the research unit of S&P Global Market Intelligence. JBS may have shipped 370 per cent more US pork to China this year through until the end of August than at the same period in 2017, while exports linked to WH Group rose 90.1 per cent, Panjiva said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods shipped 7.3 per... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3102623/us-pork-exports-china-surge-beyond-pre-trade-war-levels?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3102623/us-pork-exports-china-surge-beyond-pre-trade-war-levels?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Sep 2020 02:43:01 +0000 Investors in Chinese top pork stock are used to them bringing home the bacon in terms of high returns. That record is expected to continue, analysts say, as supply stays strained between persistent African swine fever and turmoil in the US meat supply chain due to the coronavirus. Muyuan Foodstuff and New Hope Liuhe have had their price targets lifted by at least four fold since 2019, only to see their stock prices follow the heels of these upbeat recommendations. Now, analysts have again raised... https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3083684/china-pork-stock-expectations-fattened-again-and-their-past?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/markets/article/3083684/china-pork-stock-expectations-fattened-again-and-their-past?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 May 2020 23:30:11 +0000 Smithfield Foods, a US unit of China’s biggest pork company, has reopened its processing plant after President Donald Trump ordered the US meatpacking industry to stay open despite an earlier coronavirus outbreak in such facilities across America. The plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota resumed operations in stages from Thursday after shutting down more than three weeks ago, and aims to be fully operational by late May, Smithfield said in a statement. Smithfield is the largest pork producer in... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3083392/wh-groups-us-pork-processing-plant-reopen-stages-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3083392/wh-groups-us-pork-processing-plant-reopen-stages-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 May 2020 15:27:19 +0000 America is sitting on a mountain of uneaten bacon. More than 40 million pounds (18,000 metric tonnes) of pork bellies, the cut used for bacon making, were sitting in refrigerated warehouses as of September 30, according to US government data released Tuesday. That’s the most for the month since 1971. The overhang came after a build up in the American hog herd. Pork output surged over the summer months and through September, said Dennis Smith, senior account executive at Archer Financial... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3034176/americas-mountain-uneaten-bacon-sitting-freezers-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3034176/americas-mountain-uneaten-bacon-sitting-freezers-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Oct 2019 05:37:57 +0000 In China, pigs symbolise wealth. And 2019, being the Year of the Pig, was supposed to be a great year to make money. Instead, the nation’s 26 million hog farmers are battling the deadly African swine fever epidemic that is in its second year now. The virus, harmless to humans, has spread across 32 of the nation’s 34 administrative regions since the outbreak was first reported in August 2018, affecting a large portion of the nation’s 348 million strong swine inventory, according to Rabobank. “We... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3023181/miserable-year-pig-chinas-hogs-godsend-american-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3023181/miserable-year-pig-chinas-hogs-godsend-american-farmers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:30:14 +0000 China’s WH Group, the world’s largest pork producer and owner of Smithfield Foods of Virginia, is adopting a two-prong strategy to survive the escalating trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The company will import more meat from Europe and South America to satisfy China’s demand in the largest pork-consuming nation while domestic hog herds had been culled by an outbreak of the African swine fever. It will also broaden Smithfield’s export markets to get around China’s tit-for-tat... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3022643/worlds-largest-pork-producer-wh-group-between-us-and-china-finds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3022643/worlds-largest-pork-producer-wh-group-between-us-and-china-finds?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2019 13:00:40 +0000 The price of pork is likely to remain high in China, the world’s largest consumer of the meat, as supplies may take months – and even years – to return to normal amid one of the worst outbreaks of African swine fever. The viral disease, which doesn’t harm humans, wiped out an estimated 20 per cent of China’s population of hogs, and has become endemic in the regions of Tibet and Xinjiang, which makes it difficult to stamp out, the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organisation said. Pork prices... https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3012271/pork-price-likely-remain-high-china-swine-fever-wipes-out-hog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/commodities/article/3012271/pork-price-likely-remain-high-china-swine-fever-wipes-out-hog?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2019 07:36:02 +0000 China’s WH Group, the world’s largest pork producer, called for an end to the US-China trade war on Friday, citing higher tariffs on US exports to China as one factor weighing negatively on its underlying business. The outbreak of the African swine fever and rising meat production in the US were also negative headwinds, the company said. Net profit for 2018 fell 4 per cent to US$1.05 billion, WH Group said in filing on Friday. Revenue was up 1 per cent to US$22.61 billion, slightly beating... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3001946/pork-producer-wh-group-calls-end-trade-war-2018-profit-drops-4?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3001946/pork-producer-wh-group-calls-end-trade-war-2018-profit-drops-4?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2019 14:42:50 +0000 The truce in the US-China trade war is set to benefit the agriculture and energy sectors because of China’s commitment to significantly increase related imports from the US, say analysts. Shipping companies and port operators are also likely to profit from stronger freight demand and trade flows. Following two days of intense talks in Washington, the two biggest economies in the world have agreed on “meaningful increases” in US agriculture and energy exports to China, with details to be worked... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2147151/agriculture-shipping-and-energy-firms-set-gain-most-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2147151/agriculture-shipping-and-energy-firms-set-gain-most-us-china?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 May 2018 00:30:33 +0000 Smithfield Foods, the United States’ leading pork producer, which is owned by Hong Kong listed WH Group, is looking to expand into new and current markets amid fears of a trade war between Beijing and Washington. The US is a major business segment for WH Group, the world’s largest pork producer. “If the tariffs are actually imposed, that will be part of our equation [for deciding] where we sell our pork,” said Ken Sullivan, executive director of WH Group and the chief executive of Smithfield... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2139173/us-pork-producer-owned-chinas-no-1-butcher-eyes-new-markets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2139173/us-pork-producer-owned-chinas-no-1-butcher-eyes-new-markets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 27 Mar 2018 13:19:19 +0000 Smithfield Foods, the Chinese-owned US pork giant, had signed a three-way agreement with JD.com, China’s second-largest e-commerce site, and Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development, to sell its pork products exclusively online on JD Fresh, JD.com’s fresh food division, said its parent company WH Group on Wednesday. The move has highlighted the fierce competition between two of China’s largest e-commerce giants, JD and Alibaba, in the fresh food sector, with both of the companies investing... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2116886/smithfield-foods-sell-us-pork-online-chinas-jdcom?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2116886/smithfield-foods-sell-us-pork-online-chinas-jdcom?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Oct 2017 03:52:10 +0000 Proposed legislation on foreign investments could complicate the acquisition plans of Alibaba and other Chinese companies in the United States. If enacted into law, the bill, called HR 5881, would extend the reach of reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) to include the "net benefit" of any transaction between a foreign and a US company. CFIUS is the inter-agency committee tasked to assess the national security implications of mergers, acquisitions... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1603543/us-legislative-risk-looms-expanding-chinese-firms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1603543/us-legislative-risk-looms-expanding-chinese-firms?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2014 19:58:33 +0000 On the face of it, an initial public offering (IPO) for WH Group, the world's biggest pork company, should have been an easy sell. China has huge and growing demand for pork, and WH, created when China's largest meat processing firm, Shuanghui International, acquired the world's biggest hog producer, Smithfield Foods, it was well placed to deliver growth in a highly fragmented market. But this week, WH slashed its proposed IPO by two-thirds to US$1.9 billion - a result, fund managers and bankers... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1496621/series-blunders-forced-wh-shrink-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1496621/series-blunders-forced-wh-shrink-ipo?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Apr 2014 05:45:45 +0000 The United States and Britain have emerged as the bright spots for overseas Chinese investments lately, while China's investment in the rest of Europe has waned. Chinese firms spent US$7.5 billion on 10 acquisitions and eight greenfield projects in the US in the third quarter, according to Rhodium Group, a US consultancy - the highest quarterly investment in the country by Chinese investors. Investment in the second quarter totalled US$2.5 billion and for the whole of last year amounted to... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1346798/chinese-companies-target-us-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1346798/chinese-companies-target-us-and-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Nov 2013 21:45:00 +0000 Shuanghui International, China’s largest meat processor, plans to import more pork from pigs not fed ractopamine, a controversial food additive, from its new unit Smithfield Foods, the biggest pig farmer in the United States, executives said on Thursday. Shuanghui received clearance last month US authorities for the US$4.7 billion acquisition, the biggest of a US company by a Chinese firm. Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui, said at a media briefing that the mainland firm plans to boost the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1328605/shuanghui-import-more-clean-pork-new-smithfield-unit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1328605/shuanghui-import-more-clean-pork-new-smithfield-unit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Oct 2013 08:00:46 +0000 Smithfield Foods shareholders have voted in favour of Shuanghui International's US$4.7 billion deal, approving the largest Chinese purchase of a United States company. The US$34-a-share offer for the world's largest producer of hogs and pork was approved by 96 per cent of voting shareholders, chief executive Larry Pope said at a special meeting in Richmond, Virginia, yesterday. Shuanghui agreed to buy the meat processor in May. An alternative plan from an activist shareholder to split the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1317165/shuanghui-wins-over-smithfield-shareholders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1317165/shuanghui-wins-over-smithfield-shareholders?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Shuanghui International is close to securing shareholder approval for its US$4.7 billion offer for Smithfield Foods - which would be the biggest purchase of a US company by a Chinese firm - three people familiar with the matter said. The shareholder vote on Tuesday will be a key milestone that also raises pressure on activist investor Starboard Value, which opposes the transaction, to come up with an alternative plan for the world's largest pork producer. The deal needs the approval of just over... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1312628/shuanghui-closer-smithfield-approval?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1312628/shuanghui-closer-smithfield-approval?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Smithfield Foods won national security clearance for its proposed US$4.7 billion sale to a Chinese meat processor, overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to a takeover. The approval by an important government committee came despite the scepticism of lawmakers, who professed concern over a Chinese company owning Smithfield, America's biggest pork producer. Analysts, however, are expecting Smithfield and its suitor, Shuanghui International, to prevail. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1305837/us-committee-clears-chinese-firms-us47b-acquisition-smithfield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1305837/us-committee-clears-chinese-firms-us47b-acquisition-smithfield?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The US government should soon give the go-ahead for the largest ever Chinese acquisition of a US company: a Chinese food group’s US$4.7 billion deal to buy Smithfield Foods, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Government approval of the purchase of Smithfield by Shuanghui International Holdings would be a major step forward for the deal. But it still needs shareholder approval, and at least one substantial shareholder is looking for a higher price. The bid, an effort to feed China’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1304584/us-unlikely-block-chinese-purchase-smithfield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1304584/us-unlikely-block-chinese-purchase-smithfield?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2013 02:46:20 +0000 The US government is unlikely to block Chinese meat company Shuanghui International’s US$4.7 billion deal to buy Smithfield Foods on national security grounds, one person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The deal, if approved, would be the largest ever acquisition of a US company by a Chinese firm. The bid - an effort to feed a growing Chinese appetite for US pork - has stirred some concern among US politicians and faced review by a committee of several government agencies overseen by the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1303869/us-likely-approve-chinese-purchase-smithfield?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1303869/us-likely-approve-chinese-purchase-smithfield?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Sep 2013 05:03:17 +0000 One of US pork producer Smithfield Foods' largest shareholders said yesterday that it plans to vote against a proposed takeover by China's largest meat producer because it wants more time to seek other offers that would provide greater shareholder value. New York-based investment firm Starboard Value, which owns about 5.7 per cent of Smithfield's common stock, wrote to shareholders yesterday saying it would vote against the deal, struck with Shuanghui International, at a meeting scheduled for... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1302887/smithfield-investor-seeks-block-shuanghui-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1302887/smithfield-investor-seeks-block-shuanghui-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Sep 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The biggest Chinese takeover of a US company - Shuanghui International's US$4.7 billion bid for top pork producer Smithfield Foods - encountered another hurdle last week, but progress in bilateral talks last month offers hope that such problems could one day be a thing of the past. An all-encompassing bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between China and the United States appears a step closer after advances in negotiations at the China-US strategic and economic dialogue in Washington on July... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1294288/bilateral-talks-bring-investment-boost-closer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1294288/bilateral-talks-bring-investment-boost-closer?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Aug 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Shuanghui International's pending US$4.7 billion purchase of America's Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer, does not involve sensitive areas like cutting-edge technology or telecommunications. Nor is it a state enterprise, but a holding company that controls China's largest meat processor and plans to list the combined company in Hong Kong. Its shares are roughly half owned by a group of investors including Goldman Sachs and Temasek Holdings, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund. So... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1293372/us-should-approve-smithfield-foods-purchase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1293372/us-should-approve-smithfield-foods-purchase?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 China’s Shuanghui International, which has agreed to buy US pork producer Smithfield Foods for US$4.7 billion (HK$36.46 billion), plans to list the combined company in Hong Kong after completing the takeover, people with knowledge of the matter said. A Hong Kong IPO, valued at around US$4 billion, would allow the merged group to trade in a market that would place a higher valuation on the stock than the US or other exchanges, the sources said. Hong Kong is a far bigger and more international... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1284186/smithfields-china-bidders-plan-hong-kong-ipo-after-deal-sources?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1284186/smithfields-china-bidders-plan-hong-kong-ipo-after-deal-sources?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jul 2013 13:23:35 +0000 Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee raised questions on Wednesday about the economic and national security implications of a Chinese company's proposed acquisition of Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the United States. While the chief executive of Smithfield, C. Larry Pope, said the US$4.7 billion acquisition would have "no impact on the US food supply and, therefore, no impact on food security", several senators said they feared that promises by the Chinese company,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1280138/smithfield-chief-faces-senate-heat-over-sale-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1280138/smithfield-chief-faces-senate-heat-over-sale-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Jul 2013 02:29:49 +0000 The US$4.7 billion deal by meat processing enterprise Shuanghui International to buy the US firm Smithfield Foods has again raised questions about the price of overseas acquisitions. Is it wise for Shuanghui to acquire the US pork producer at over 30 per cent premium without any requirements? Of course, Chinese companies are acquiring European and US companies at an increasing pace and are becoming more proficient in the financial and legal challenges of outbound mergers and acquisitions, but... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1267436/art-persuasion-can-help-chinese-companies-find-global?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1267436/art-persuasion-can-help-chinese-companies-find-global?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 A group of 15 US senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties has urged the Obama administration to consider whether the proposed sale of Smithfield Foods to the Chinese meat company Shuanghui International posed a threat to the US food supply that could justify blocking the deal. "We believe that our food supply is critical infrastructure that should be included in any reasonable person's definition of national security," the senators said in a letter to treasury secretary Jack Lew,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1266240/us-senators-want-security-probe-over-pork-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1266240/us-senators-want-security-probe-over-pork-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Smithfield Foods, the pig producer that has agreed to a US$4.7 billion bid from Shuanghui International, was urged by activist investor Starboard Value to consider splitting itself up instead. A break-up may value the world's largest pork producer at about US$44 to US$55 a share, the investor, which said it holds a 5.7 per cent stake in the company, wrote in a letter to Smithfield's board. Hong Kong-based Shuanghui agreed in May to pay US$34 a share for the company. "We question whether the... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1263459/big-investor-urges-smithfield-breakup-over-buyout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1263459/big-investor-urges-smithfield-breakup-over-buyout?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Jun 2013 02:47:41 +0000 On a sunny March afternoon, 11 Chinese executives armed with digital cameras and iPads got out of a van on Brazil's highway BR-163 to photograph soyabean-laden trucks headed to export terminals. Dressed in polo shirts, jeans and boots, the officials from five state-owned companies, which together imported 40 per cent of China's soyabeans last year, had travelled six hours to see the oilseed being moved from farms to ports during a tour organised by Rabobank of the Netherlands. They are part of a... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1259397/hunger-farm-assets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1259397/hunger-farm-assets?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 President Barack Obama's talks with President Xi Jinping this weekend comes as acquisitions by mainland companies in the US heighten public unease toward its economic rival. Proponents of the deals say Americans ought to relax. The biggest ever Chinese deal in the US, Shuanghui International's US$4.72 billion purchase of US pig producer Smithfield Foods announced last week, touched off the latest round of suspicion. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley said he worried about food supply, while a survey... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1255989/shuanghuis-smithfield-buy-stokes-us-unease-belies-benefits-deal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1255989/shuanghuis-smithfield-buy-stokes-us-unease-belies-benefits-deal?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Is pork really a matter of national security? To China it might be, given that the meat is a staple foodstuff of a rapidly growing economy. But in the United States? How many security concerns can one country have? News that China's Shuanghui International had agreed to buy Smithfield Foods, the world's largest pork producer, for US$4.7 billion, or US$7.1 billion including debt, set alarm bells ringing throughout the US. Some members of congress were incandescent with anger at prime brands such... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1253568/will-chinas-pigs-deal-fly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/1253568/will-chinas-pigs-deal-fly?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Smithfield Foods executives, who run one of the worst-performing large US food makers over the past five years, are set to reap at least US$85.4 million from its sale to Chinese firm Shuanghui International Holdings. The company has been under pressure from its biggest shareholder for lagging behind competitors Hormel Foods and Tyson Foods. Continental Grain, which has a 6.8 per cent stake, said in March that Smithfield should appoint new managers and break itself into three businesses as rising... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1250940/smithfield-bosses-earn-huge-sums-shuanghui-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1250940/smithfield-bosses-earn-huge-sums-shuanghui-takeover?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000