Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd and its partners have invested a combined US$90 million in a Chinese copper tube company, the company said yesterday.
Standard Chartered, as the lead investor, put US$50 million into China Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group. Co-investors include Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs from the United States. Golden Dragon will become a Sino-foreign joint venture after the deal.
"This deal shows our full commitment to China,'' said Joe Stevens, head of principal finance at Standard Chartered Bank. "With the Chinese economy growing so rigorously and becoming stronger, Standard Chartered will be more deeply and more comprehensively involved in the China market.''
Henan Province-based Golden Dragon is the world's biggest precise copper tube manufacturer. In 2007, the firm recorded an annual copper tube output of 200,000 tons and capacity of 300,000 tons.
With eight production bases and 13 output lines covering all key regions in China, the company has a well-established manufacturing system.
It also has a plant in Mexico that is being built and is expected to start mass production by end of the year.
The Chinese company has maintained a market share of above 50 percent among all top-tier domestic and international customers.
Golden Dragon is expected to go public as its rivals are already listed.
Standard Chartered Private Equity is an affiliate under Standard Chartered Bank, which generates two-thirds of its revenue in Asia.