China's richest man wants Noynoy's family as partner

MANILA, Philippines - China’s richest man is eyeing the family of President Aquino as a potential business partner here in the Philippines, a ranking government official said over the weekend.

In an interview with reporters, Board of Investments (BOI) managing head Cristino L. Panlilio said that the Cojuangco family is a potential partner for Wahaha group in its plan to invest P1 billion for a sugar plantation.

Panlilio has already met with Fernando Cojuangco last week but the result of the meeting was not reported to the press yet.

Panlilio said that there are about 6,000 hectares of idle land in Pampanga and Tarlac which will be perfect for a sugar plantation. He said the Cojuangcos may be tapped for the project because Wahaha is eyeing a “plantation type operation.”

Panlilio, who is also undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), said that if the Filipino group finds the business proposal interesting, they can send a feasibility study to Wahaha to cement the partnership.

Earlier, Panlilio said that he has met with Zong Qing Hou, chairman and general manager of the Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. Ltd. in Shanghai. “I spoke with Mr. Zong and he was just waiting for the new government to settle down. They are interested in mining and agriculture,” Panlilio reported.

For agriculture, Panlilio said that Wahaha would like to source their sugar from the Philippines. Wahaha is the leading beverage maker in China. It consumes as much as 300,000 tons of sugar annually. This represents 13.6 percent of the Philippines’ 2.2 million metric ton yearly production of sugar.

Panlilio, who worked for the sugar milling and refinery firm Pasudeco Group, said they will help Wahaha hook up with a viable Filipino partner.

“Wahaha is looking for a right partner,” Panlilio said. “They want a joint venture with a Filipino group.” He noted that possible partners for the group are the Central Azucarera de Tarlac and the Escaler’s Pasudeco Group.

Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. Ltd, the leading beverage producer in China, has 150 subsidiaries in 29 provinces. They have 58 production bases with total assets of 30 billion yuan and 30,000 employees

The company’s main products include milk drinks, drinking water, juice drinks, tea drinks, health care food, canned food and others. Last year, Wahaha’s operation revenue reached 43.2 billion RMB which represented a 32 percent increase from 2008 figures.