23 April, 2008 - CJ Cheil Jedang is considering setting up operations in the Chinese city of Changchun - where rival Global Bio-chem and its off-shoot Global Sweeteners has its long-established manufacturing base, FLEXNEWS can reveal.
South Korean giant CJ Cheil Jedang, a leading player in the food and animal feed markets, has been in discussion with local government officials on establishing a base in the region in the north east of China.
FLEXNEWS has learnt from a Chinese government source the President of CJ held top-level talks with the Mayor of Changchun on how the company and the region could co-operate with each other.
The regional government source said: “Mayor Cui Jie spoke highly of CJ’s desire to seek cooperation with Changchun, and introduced the geographical and industrial advantages of Changchun to the guests, expressing the wish to cooperate with CJ Group.
The two men (pictured below) are understood to have discussed the geographical and industrial benefits CJ could utilize if it decided to open a facility in the area.
Mayor Cui Jie said: “Among the production factors of Changchun, the cost of production is low, while the labour quality is very high. Changchun Municipal People’s Government is willing to help deal with the problems confronting CJ Group when coming to invest and develop in Changchun.”
Changchun is a major corn-growing area and the operational headquarters for Global Bio-chem. GBT’s spin-off company, Global Sweeteners, also has a large manufacturing base there.
The companies share a number of the same corn by-products in their portfolios, including corn starch, corn gluten, corn meal and high fructose corn syrup.
In a separate announcement this week, Global Sweeteners declared one of its primary aims in 2008 was to acquire a corn refinery through merger or acquisition to ensure its supply of raw materials.
Both CJ Cheil Jedang and Global Bio-chem declined to comment on the possibility of any of their subsidiaries embarking on a joint venture in relation to any of their products.