Asian Bamboo AG secures another plantation lease agreement
Hamburg, 14 December, 2009 – Asian Bamboo AG (“Asian Bamboo”, “the Company”, ISIN: DE000A0M6M79, ticker symbol: “5AB”), a world-leading producer of bamboo trees and organic bamboo shoots, is pleased to announce that it has signed a lease agreement for a bamboo plantation with a total size of approximately 2,100 hectares (ha).
The plantation is located in Guilin Town in Shaowu City, Fujian Province, close to some of the Company’s other plantations. Asian Bamboo will pay a total fee of around EUR 11 million for a 20 year lease, translating into EUR 5,370 per ha. The company will utilise the funds borrowed from DEG to finance the lease. Around 30% of the total lease fee will be paid before the end of the year and the balance when the harvesting rights are transferred. The plantation is expected to start generating output in Q3 2010.
Lin Zuojun, CEO and founder of Asian Bamboo, commented: “Securing new plantation leases is the foundation of our business model. Including this plantation lease, we now have a total plantation size of 31,629 ha, of which 27,943 ha are mature plantations.”
