Ziwo associate, partners to invest 10m yuan in electric-vehicle chargers venture

AN associate company of mainboard-listed Ziwo Holdings and its partners will invest 10 million yuan (S$2 million) in a joint venture to build electric-vehicle chargers for sale in Sichuan and other provinces in southern China.

The associate company, Beijing E-Star, and partners Haboat Investment and Chengdu Yaneng will invest the sum in phases to set up a production and marketing centre in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.

This was detailed in a Thursday morning release by Ziwo, a China-based investment holding company. Ziwo has a 45 per cent stake in Beijing E-Star.

Based on their respective shareholdings, Beijing E-Star, Haboat Investment and Chengdu Yaneng will initially put 10 per cent of the 10 million yuan investment commitment into the joint venture to kick-start operations. Beijing E-Star will fund its outlay using its own internal resources.

Beijing E-Star, which builds charging systems for electric vehicles, will own 18 per cent of the joint venture. It will have access to its intellectual property and technology.

Beijing E-Star will receive a licensing fee for five years for every charger produced, in addition to its share of profits from the joint venture.

Haboat Investment, a switchgear and electric panels maker, will own 40 per cent of the joint venture. The remaining will be held by Chengdu Yaneng, an investment firm owned by two Chinese nationals.

Thursday's release said that this is part of Ziwo's efforts to "revive its fortunes" through Beijing E-Star and other businesses amid waning demand in China for its synthetic-rubber products.

The tie-up comes a month after Beijing E-Star entered into a strategic agreement with Tai Yu Realty, a property developer, to build 160 electric-vehicle charging stations in Huizhou city.

Ziwo's counter closed flat on Wednesday at 3 Singapore cents.