ANI now fully owns China-based firm

Businessman Antonio Tiu’s AgriNurture Inc. (ANI) assumed full ownership of its China-based subsidiary Zhongshan Fucang Trading Co. Ltd. which it eventually plans to divest.

Private stakeholders assigned their remaining 30 percent shares in Fucang to ANI “in liquidation of previous advances,” the listed international trading firm told the local bourse.

ANI said the transaction, valued at an equivalent of P209.08 million, allowed them to secure full ownership of Fucang “in preparation for the divestment of asset under the same company.”

Prior to the deal, the listed company already owned 70 percent of Fucang, an agri-commodity trading company based in Zhongshan City in Guangdong Province.

In 2016, ANI acquired an initial 49-percent stake in Fucang for 42.63 million renminbi or approximately P344.81 million. It had expected the acquisition to aid in the expansion of its trading business and develop a new distribution network in China.

Fucang is engaged in the sale, import and export of goods and technologies with various investments in rural real estate development and agri-trading platforms.

According to ANI’s previous disclosure, Fucang indirectly owns 51 percent of Xuzhou Shengmei Century Property Co. Ltd., which has a rural real estate development in Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province.

Established in 1997, ANI supplies fresh vegetables, fruits, and grain requirements of the leading retail and institutional accounts in the country.

The company likewise delivers homegrown fruits such as mango, banana, sweet pineapple and papaya to customers in Japan, Korea, and the Greater China region, the Middle East, Europe and North America.