omniture

Hebei Supply and Marketing Cooperative Makes Hong Kong Capital Market Debut

Parko (Hong Kong) Limited
2013-11-14 15:00 1158

Serving as Unique and Irreplaceable Engine of Development for Hebei Province's Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers

HONG KONG, Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Parko (Hong Kong) Limited ("Parko" or the "Company"), beneficially and indirectly controlled by the Hebei Supplying and Marketing Cooperative ("Hebei SMC"), today announced the completion of its mandatory conditional general cash offer for all issued Shares of Qianlong Technology International Holdings Limited ("Qianlong Technology", stock code: 01236). Parko currently owns 138,259,200 shares of Qianlong Technology, equivalent to 54.73% of its total issued share.

The Hebei SMC is supervised by the State Council-led All-China Federation of Supply & Marketing Cooperatives in the areas of industry management and business guidance. It is also authorized by the Hebei Provincial Government in the areas of management and human resources appointment. Hebei SMC provides comprehensive integrated agricultural trade and finance services covering not only the traditional agricultural means of production, cotton and salt, but also in the new areas of development -- county commercial complexes, e-commerce and the rural finance businesses. Hebei SMC will fully support the listed company in terms of funding and developing its talent and network, and also sustain its growth in tandem with China's agricultural modernization and urbanization by proactively seeking the appropriate partners, capital and resources in the new areas of development.

Targeting to establish 100 county commercial complexes in the next three to five years

Based on the advantages enjoyed by its traditional businesses, Hebei SMC will actively explore new business opportunities in integrated agricultural trade and financial services. It first introduced the "County Commercial Complex" in county towns in 2011, integrating five components comprising residential, office, shopping, dining and entertainment. It also plans to boost the "New Cooperation County Commercial Complex" brand by building 100 commercial complexes in 100 county towns in the next three to five years with an expected total investment of ten of billions RMB or even up to 100 billion RMB. 

Hebei SMC has signed strategic cooperation agreements with 11 municipal governments in Hebei Province and selected 87 sites suitable for building county commercial complexes, after inspecting 101 county towns. Five projects are already under construction with more than RMB1 billion invested, and are expected to be completed at the end of next year.

Hebei SMC's plans to develop county commercial complexes are supported by the central and  Hebei provincial governments. China Development Bank's Hebei Branch has offered a RMB20 billion loan facilities for the construction of county commercial complexes led by Hebei SMC, to ensure that the projects proceed smoothly. The general office of the Hebei provincial government has issued a notice specially requiring local governments to support the SMC in building county commercial complexes by integrating the complexes into local economic and social development planning, as well as the development of local modern service industries. Local governments are required to include the complexes into key projects, and to offer preferential policies.

Exploring new e-commerce platform to cater to Internet development trend

Hebei SMC has also made a significant effort in developing its new "Nong Jiao Hui" http://www.hbape.com, the only e-commerce platform approved by the National Finance Office, Development and Reform Commission and the Hebei Provincial Government to engage in the trading of contracted agricultural products.

The "Nong Jiao Hui" platform commenced operation in June 24 this year, offering five trading modes that include trading, bidding auction, spot deal, branch deals and self-selected product platform. The service functions of the platform include free information distribution, warehousing and logistics, mobile message alerts, financing, delivery, product exhibition, and quality control. The spot deal business currently features five options, and has attracted 4,600 dealers from 23 provinces (cities or districts). As at October 17, members from all over Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan have closed 6.8 million deals worth RMB1.75 billion.

The "Nong Jiao Hui" platform has helped Hebei SMC to establish partnerships with six banks, namely the Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Communication Bank and China Minsheng Bank. It has already started trading via network linkage.

Leading rural finance development to drive development of "Agriculture, Rural Areas and Farmers"

In the area of rural finance, Hebei SMC has entered the rural insurance, investment guarantee and small agricultural loan businesses, bringing Hebei Province to the forefront in the development of rural finance in China. Hebei New Cooperation Investment Guarantee Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Hebei SMC, is among the top four financial guarantee institutions in Hebei Province. With 96 branches in more than half of counties in the province and guarantee partnerships with 12 banks established, it has offered loan guarantees amounting to RMB874 million to 152 agriculture-related small to medium enterprises (SMEs).

Hebei SMC is also actively exploring the establishment of new financial institutions such as banks in rural areas. It has established the Qinghe Jinnong Rural Bank with the cooperation of XingTai Commercial Bank, Xintai SMC and eight other enterprises in order to offer financial services to local agricultural concerns, rural areas and farmers, and to push the development of SMEs. As of the end of August this year, the bank has a deposit balance of RMB318 million and a loan balance of RMB213 million, of which loan to farmers amounted to RMB129 million with 254 farmers involved and a non-performing loans rate of zero.

Mr. Chen Lijun, Director of Parko and Chairman of Qianlong Technology, said, "Hebei SMC has been a unique and irreplaceable engine in the process of agricultural modernization and urbanization in Hebei Province, having been based in a rural area for 60 years and hosting a large-scale service system with a government background and market mechanism. Hebei SMC will leverage its successful debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and connections to the overseas capital markets to further support agricultural development and urbanization. Looking ahead, our advantages in resources and marketing, our background as a state-owned enterprise, our diverse and market-driven business model which shows great potential, as well as our extensive network in rural areas will bring impetus to the listed company for its future development."

Source: Parko (Hong Kong) Limited
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