ITOCHU Announces Recycling Enterprise in China

August 24, 2015

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has agreed to sell Dalian New Green Recycle & Resources Corporation (hereinafter “DALIAN NEW GREEN”), its consolidated subsidiary, to a major metal recycling business in China, the Chiho-Tiande Group Limited (listed in Hong Kong; Representatives: Tu Jianhua, Chairman, and Fang Ankong, CEO; hereinafter “CHIHO-TIANDE”), and also to take an equity stake in CHIHO-TIANDE. At the same time, in Hong Kong, CHIHO-TIANDE, ITOCHU Metals Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masaki Oka, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU METALS”), a wholly owned subsidiary of ITOCHU, and Suzuki Shokai Co.,Ltd. (headquartered in Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido; Tsukasa Komatani, President & CEO; hereinafter “Suzuki Shokai”) agreed to set up a joint holding company for a general recycling materials trading enterprise in Japan and China.

DALIAN NEW GREEN was established as a general recycling enterprise in Dalian Changxing Island Harbor Industrial Zone in October 2010, with the ITOCHU Group and Suzuki Shokai its major shareholders. ITOCHU and Suzuki Shokai decided to transfer the entire shareholding, operation and management of DALIAN NEW GREEN to CHIHO-TIANDE, a major metal recycling business in China, believing that an influential local partner would be necessary to ensure the further growth of DALIAN NEW GREEN. The companies decided to pursue the business alliances based on the judgment that securing a position as a shareholder of CHIHO-TIANDE, thereby specializing in domains at which ITOCHU excels, such as trading, and providing support with the advanced recycling technologies of Suzuki Shokai will enable it to strengthen its recycling business in the growing Asian market.

ITOCHU positions energy conservation and eco-business, including recycling in China, as one of the key areas of investment for the company. CHIHO-TIANDE has set up four recycling facilities in Mainland China and Hong Kong, and currently imports approximately [500,000 to 700,000] tons of scrap metal per year, mainly from Europe and North America. Suzuki Shokai has set up 25 places of business in Hokkaido, including its head office, and operates general recycling business in Hokkaido area in Japanall over the prefecture. ITOCHU METALS has created a nationwide network of 81 recycling companies (ITOCHU Tetsugen-kai), which handle steel scrap, and is expanding its metals recycling business overseas. Through this latest business alliance, an international recycling network will be created harnessing the strengths of each of the four companies and the processing capability of DALIAN NEW GREEN.

Profile of partner company

Official name Chiho-Tiande Group Limited
English name Chiho-Tiande Group Limited
Established 1995, listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange July 2010
Capital HK$ 15.9 million
Head Office Hong Kong (also have recycling plants in Taizhou, Ningbo, and Yantai)
Representatives Tu Jianhua, Chairman, and Fang Ankong, Chief Executive Officer
Type of business Metal scrap recycling service
No. of employees 521 (591 in 2013), as well as 2,486 subcontracted laborers (sorting tasks)
URL