Proceeds to Support Research and Development at Fuwei Films’ Technology Center
BEIJING, Sept. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Fuwei Films (Holdings) Co. Limited (Nasdaq: FFHL), China’s leading manufacturer and distributor of high quality BOPET plastic film, today announced that its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Fuwei Films (Shandong) Co. Ltd. (“Shandong Fuwei”), expects to receive a RMB 30 million loan from the Weifang City Hi & New Technology Project Industrial Development Fund to support the Company’s Technology Center project.
As part of the Fuwei Films Technology Center project, the Company is building a small-scale trial production line for the purpose of conducting research and development. This new trial production line will be primarily used for research into the development of multiple-layer BOPET films and may also be utilized for commercial production. Using a dedicated production line of a smaller trial production scale will enable the Company to save costs and reduce waste during the process of development, particularly during test production.
Xiaoan He, Chairman and CEO of Fuwei Films commented, “We are very pleased that the local government recognizes the importance of Fuwei Films’ business expansion plans, especially the development of high level value-added technology. After granting Fuwei Films a low-interest loan of RMB 20 million in 2006, the local government continues to provide support to Fuwei’s progress and efforts in improving technology. The funds from the new RMB 30 million loan can continuously be used in the trial production line project and to support other research and development efforts in our Technology Center, including purchasing of key durable and large-scale R&D equipment needed to develop high-level value-added products or purchasing patents and specific technology.”
Shandong Fuwei entered into a “Letter of Intent of Fund Support” with the Administration Committee of Weifang City Hi & New Technology Industrial Development Zone regarding the Hi-Tech Industry Development Funding of Fuwei Films Technology Center project. Fuwei expects that subject to final approvals, funds from the RMB 30 million loan will be available in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The Weifang government established the Hi & New Technology Project Industrial Development Fund in 2006, for the purpose of enhancing the independent innovation and technical R&D ability of local enterprises, and to support the development of local Hi & New Technology enterprises.
About Fuwei Films
Fuwei Films conducts its business through its wholly owned subsidiary Shandong Fuwei Films Co., Ltd. Shandong Fuwei develops, manufactures and distributes high quality plastic films using the biaxial oriented stretch technique, otherwise known as BOPET film (biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate). Fuwei’s BOPET film is widely used to package food, medicine, cosmetics, tobacco and alcohol, as well as in the imaging, electronics, and magnetic products industries.
For more information about the Company, please visit the Company’s website at http://www.fuweiholdings.com .
Safe Harbor
This press release contains information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results described by the forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could contribute to such differences include those matters more fully disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking information provided herein represents the Company’s estimates as of the date of the press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause the Company’s estimates to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking information in the future. Therefore, this forward-looking information should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s estimates of its future financial performance as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
The forward-looking statements included in this press release are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about our businesses and business environments. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual results of our operations may differ materially from information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors some of which are include, among other things, competition in the BOPET film industry; growth of, and risks inherent in, the BOPET film industry in China; uncertainty as to future profitability and our ability to obtain adequate financing for our planned capital expenditure requirements; uncertainty as to our ability to continuously develop new BOPET film products and keep up with changes in BOPET film technology; risks associated with possible defects and errors in our products; uncertainty as to our ability to protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; uncertainty as to our ability to attract and retain qualified executives and personnel; and uncertainty in acquiring raw materials on time and on acceptable terms, particularly in view of the volatility in the prices of petroleum products in recent years.
For more information, please contact:
In China:
Christina He
Investor Relations
Tel: +86-10-8518-5620
Email: fuweiIR@fuweifilms.com
In the US:
Mark Jones
Global Consulting Group
Tel: +1-646-284-9414
Email: mjones@hfgcg.com
