JES investing in Xinjiang mining firm

LOSS-MAKING Chinese shipbuilder JES International is buying up to 30 per cent of a mining exploration firm in Xinjiang, China, in a bid to diversify its earnings stream.

The firm is investing $127 million - or 89.15 per cent of its market capitalisation as at Monday - in Mineriver, a Singapore-incorporated firm that is being restructured to hold the Xinjiang company with mineral exploration rights.

This company, called Xinjiang Feng Li De Yuan Trading Co, had a net value of 381,000 yuan (S$77,590) as at July 31, according to an independent valuation report dated Oct 22 by Xinjiang Tiannuo Zhengxin Assets Appraisal Ltd Co.