In July 2005 the Group, through its 70% subsidiary China Environmental Water Holdings Limited, acquired 50% equity of the enlarged registered capital of the Conseco Seabuckthorn Company Limited (Conseco or the Company) for the development of water environment management business in the northwestern part of China. Conseco Seabuckthorn Company Limited ("Conseco" means holy fruit in plateau) was founded in 1987 and is an enterprise registered in Zhongguancun Hi-tech Park of Beijing by the China National Administration Center for Seabuckthorn Development, Ministry of Water Resources, the PRC. As one of China's leading enterprises in the field of seabuckthorn, the Company has successively established seabuckthorn resources bases, new varieties breeding bases and raw material production bases in the Erdos Plateau, the Leoss Plateau, the Northeast Plain and the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, as well as the production base for hi-tech products in Beijing. Products developed by the Company include seabuckthorn flavone soft capsule, seabuckthorn seed oil and pulp oil capsules, seabuckthorn seed oil and pulp oil, seabuckthorn juice, and seabuckthorn tea. In addition the company has 300,000 hectares of land, which is the world's largest seabuckthorn resource, seedling, breeding and processing base, for the cultivation of seabuckthorn. As mentioned before, the company engaged primarily in cultivation, processing, research and development of seabuckthorn, as well as distribution of its finished products and raw materials to domestic and foreign markets. The company's products are being sold to 23 countries worldwide including the USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Japan, India, Singapore, and Chile. Conseco is considered to be the largest supplier of seabuckthorn products in the world. |