Chairman Wang Zongnan Meets with Matthew D. Ginsburg, Managing Director of Barclays Bank

Wang Zongnan, Chairman of Bright Food Group, met with the visiting delegation led by Matthew D. Ginsburg, Managing Director of Barclays Bank at the headquarters of the Group on the morning of July 16.

Mr. Matthew expressed his gratitude to Chairman Wang for his meeting firstly. Then he introduced that Barclays Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in England, which was set up in 1862 and headquartered in London. The business of Barclays Bank extended to about 60 countries in the world, with over 2100 branches in England. Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays, acquired Lehman Brothers in 2008, a time-honored investment bank in the United States. Barclays Capital runs a wide range of financial business, including bills, exchanges, investment, insurance, lease, export, credit, property management, etc. He pointed out that, as Bright Food Group had succeeded in accomplishing several international acquisitions in recent years, Barclays Bank was willing to offer better financial services for the further development of Bright Food Group.

Chairman Wang welcomed the guests and expressed his gratitude to Barclays Bank for its strong assistance in the Group’s issuance of dollar bonds. Speaking of the international strategy of the Group, he emphasized that according to the UN calculation method, the transnational index of Bright Food Group was 12%, with its overseas operations accounting for 15% of its whole business in 2012, and as the Group pushes ahead with internationalization strategy, the figure would rise to 25% in 2015. Currently, the Group’s overseas mergers and acquisitions concentrated mainly on three categories. The first is acquisition of resource elements. For example, in 2009, the Group acquired 60% equity of Yunnan Yinmore Sugar Group Company LTD.[01], which is registered in Cayman, and in 2010, it acquired 51% equity of Synlait Milk, the second largest dairy company in New Zealand. Both acquisitions have granted the Group easier access to superior resources at home and abroad. The second is acquisition of distributors. For instance, in 2011 the Group acquired 75% equity of Manassen, one of the leading comprehensive food operators and distributors in Australia, and in 2012, it acquired 70% equity of DIVA, a well-known top-tier wine dealer in Bordeaux, France. Both acquisitions promoted the integration of the global distribution networks and brought about synergy of domestic and overseas networks. The third is acquisition of premium food manufacturers whose brands are promising and representing healthy and functional consumption in the future. For instance, it acquired 60% equity of Weetabix in 2012, the second largest cereal food manufacturer in England. This has also been the largest overseas acquisition for China’s food industry. Mr. Wang hoped that Barclays Bank would continue to draw on its comprehensive competitive strength in the future cooperation between the two sides and stay as a vital partner of Bright Food Group in its globalization process.

Cao Xiaofeng, CFO of the Bright Food Group, Li Lin, General Manager of the Financial Department accompanied Chairman Wang in the meeting.