CHINESE shipbuilding firm JES International said it was switching from an earlier mining investment to forestry as the latter provided a better deal for the company.

"In almost everything, this new forest investment will present a much more worthwhile investment as compared to the magnesium announcement," its chief financial officer Patrick Kan told The Business Times.

JES International had on Tuesday said that it was acquiring a controlling stake in an African forestry business, while putting on hold its investment into Chinese mining exploration firm Mineriver.