Singapore, Dec 10, 2008: All Asia Licensing Inc. (AASI) announced the launch of the first phase of a viable program in the agricultural biotechnology sector with the signing of an $11 million joint venture agreement with Beijing Xinxinshengda Biology Engineering Technology (BBET).
AASI will own 55% of the venture, named Fertilizer King. The new joint venture company is to be financed by a private placement of a combination of debt and equity. Fertilizer King’s plans are to assemble several existing microbial and organic fertilizer plants in China and convert them to produce Dr. Ma’s microbial fertilizers.
According to Mr Anthony Lee, President, AASI, “The impetus for this venture coincides with the Chinese government’s launch of the 70-year Green Great Wall project. This involves the planting of a 2,800 mile shelterbelt of trees across the northwest rim of China skirting the Gobi Desert. Additional projects to make China greener involve the changing of way farmers work their land. The National Reform and Development Commission takes the position that the use of human and animal effluents as fertilizer will be phased out. In addition, the wide use of chemical fertilizers will be curtailed. A brand new genre of high-tech fertilizers will eventually replace them.”
Experiments in microbial fertilizers in space – via China’s launch of its fifth satellite in its ambitious “Compass” global satellite positioning system recently – is only the latest effort in the nation’s fast developing space program. The “Beidou” or “Big Dipper” satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China’s Sichuan province and has already yielded an advanced biotech line of fertilizers for BBET.
In a joint statement Mr Lee and Dr. Ma Lintao of BBET said, “For many years, we both have been looking for a suitable partner to help market and promote these unique technology-based products worldwide. Today, we formalize our previously announced intent to work together.”
The new venture will own a proprietary microbial fertilizer technology, which is currently represented by an array of nine international patents. Dr. Ma Lintao, the chief scientist and principal of BBET, said, “Our products should be much sought after because a good acreage of the world’s arable land has been damaged by the heavy application of chemical fertilizers since the 1960s. We believe that Fertilizer King’s products will not only rejuvenate and recondition damaged soils, but they should enhance crop production by up to 25%.”
“China recently announced $586 billion in spending to kick start its economy. We believe our new venture will add a holistic component to this program. Fertilizer King is intent on helping Chinese farmers enhance crop production and rejuvenate the vast tracts of damaged soils in the country. As an economic byproduct, the harvests by farmers who use of our fertilizers may command better prices in the marketplace since their products may be certified as organic,” Lee said.
The line of fertilizers, branded as “Golden Sunshine,” has been widely used in China. The displays around Tiananmen Square during the 2008 Beijing Olympics were colorful exhibitions of its properties.
The Joint Venture Agreement is subject to the completion of funding, among other things.