China’s Tongwei Group eyes expansion in Southeast Asia

Tongwei Group, a leading Chinese firm engaged in agricultural and new energy business, has expressed keen interest to expand business in the Southeast Asian countries.

"We have already close cooperation in many countries but we are also seeking more opportunities particularly in South Asia and Southeast Asia," Hu Rongzhu, vice president of Tongwei Co., Ltd., said in a recent interview with Asian journalists at new Tongwei headquarters in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

At present, Tongwei boasts more than 170 branch/subsidiary companies and over 20,000 employees distributed all over China and Southeast Asia including Vietnam and Singapore.

Chen Xi, project manager of Development Department of Tongwei Co., Ltd., said the company is particularly interested to open business in the Philippines especially now that China-Philippines relations have normalized since last year.

"Actually, we have plan to expand our business in the Philippines especially now that China and Philippines relations is getting better," Chen said.

Chen said Tongwei Group had tried the Philippines market for its aquatic, livestock and poultry feeds five years ago, “but negotiations did not work out.”

Hu said Tongwei is the world’s largest producer of ‘good quality’ aquatic feeds and one of the major producers of livestock and poultry feeds.

"Our products are very competitive in terms of cost and quality," Hu told the journalists after showing the company’s products, projects and achievements displayed in an exhibition hall.

Tongwei Group started from humble beginning in 1983, engaged only in fish feeds. But three decades of hardwork and innovation have made the company one of world’s best in aquatic feeds production and polycrystalline silicon and photovoltaic industries.

The company has an annual production capacity of 10 million tons of fodder and has been listed Sichuan’s first listed agricultural company with annual revenue of over RMB 10 billion (USD1.47 billion).

It is also one of China’s listed agricultural companies with largest sales volume in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery.

For 20 consecutive years, Tongwei’s aquatic feeds is dominating the domestic market with 20 percent share.

In the new energy business, Hu said Tongwei is the only domestic comprehensive photovoltaic enterprise covering upstream polysilicon production, solar cell production, and construction of terminal photovoltaic (PV) power station.

In the next 3 to 5 years, Tongwei is hoping to achieve a capacity of 1000MW in the domain of solar energy generation and an annual output value of more than RMB20 billion (USD2.94 billion).

"By then, it will become the world’s largest, most competitive and influential solar battery producer," Hu said.

Listed as China’s top 100 listed private companies, Tongwei’s brand value hit RMB45 billion (USD6.6 billion).

Tongwei Group Chairman of the Board Liu Hanyuan has been granted Global New Energy Figure of the Year honor in 2013 and Asia-Pacific Economic Leaders Award for Social Responsibility’ in 2015.

Jelly Musico is a reporter of Philippine News Agency and current intern of People’s Daily Online