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HONG KONG, July 22 /PRNewswire-Asia/ --China Cord Blood Corporation (NYSE: CO) ("CCBC" or "the Company"), China's first and largest cord blood bank operator, today announced that it has increased its ownership stake in Cordlife Limited ("Cordlife") (ASX: CBB) to 19.1% from 16.0% pursuant to Cordlife’s rights issue which closed on July 19, 2010.
Cordlife is a Pan-Asia cord blood bank operator listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and India. Two of these countries and regions have annual birth rates among the highest in Asia. Total proceeds raised in Cordlife’s rights issue amounted to AUD6 million. CCBC's anticipated subscription of approximately AUD2.2 million was satisfied by internal resources.
"We believe that the proceeds raised for Cordlife will further accelerate its Pan-Asia expansion strategy," said Ms. Ting Zheng, Chairperson and CEO of China Cord Blood Corporation, "Cordlife's management team has repeatedly demonstrated its execution capabilities to commercialize cord blood banking services in new emerging markets and has achieved early success in India and Indonesia. By increasing our strategic position in Cordlife, we believe we have further strengthened our footprint in Asia and paved the way to becoming the most influential brand in the industry both in China and the Pan-Asia regions."
About China Cord Blood Corporation
China Cord Blood Corporation is the first and the largest cord blood banking operator in China in terms of geographical coverage and is the only cord blood bank operator with multiple licenses. Under the current PRC government regulations, only one licensed cord blood bank operator is permitted to operate in each licensed region and only six licenses have been issued as of today. China Cord Blood Corporation provides cord blood collection, laboratory testing, hematopoietic stem cell processing, and stem cell storage services. For more information about China Cord Blood Corporation, please visit: http://www.chinacordbloodcorp.com.
For more information, please contact:
China Cord Blood Corporation
Ms. Joeling Law
Tel: +852-3605-8180
Email: ir@chinacordbloodcorp.com
ICR, LLC
In New York:
Ashley M. Ammon or Christine Duan
Tel: +1-646-277-1227
In Beijing:
Wen Lei Zheng
Tel: +86-10-6599-7968
