先正达公司与中国sanbei合资开发玉米种子

Syngenta eyes Chinese corn potential with Sanbei investment
By Jess Halliday

背景知识：

瑞士先正达公司将购买中国种业公司sanbei的49%，共同开发玉米种子，以满足国内需求。

瑞士先正达公司致力于通过创新的科研技术为可持续农业发展做出贡献。公司在全球植保领域名列前茅，并在高价值商业种子领域排名第三。公司 2006 年的全球销售额约 81 亿美元。目前，先正达的业务遍及全球 90 多个国家和地区，拥有员工 19,500 人左右。先正达在瑞士（ SYNN ）和纽约（ SYT ）股票交易所上市。
先正达在中国的总投资已达 1.8 亿美元，拥450 多名员工，建有 4 家合资企业、 1 家独 资公司和 数家代表处。

公司资料详见先正达全球网页。

14/05/2007-Syngenta is to acquire a 49 per cent take in Chinese seed company Sanbei with a view to jointly developing corn seed products to meet growing demand driven by changing food patterns and agronomic trends.

Swiss Syngenta has operated in China for the last decade, offering both seed and crop protection products. But the company has spied new opportunities as the economy in China is growing and more food is needed to feed the swelling population.

Sanbei is a leading player in the development and distribution of corn seeds in China.

A spokesperson told FoodNavigator.com that dietary patterns in the country are shifting"from green to protein",spurring demand for meat, which in turn calls for more feed - of which corn is a major component.

Another factor is the huge demand for energy in China, which goes hand-in-hand with growing awareness of biofuels.

And agricultural trends, such as the decline in arable lands, are also conspiring to create demand for high-yield, disease-resistant crops. By combining the two companies' technology and knowledge of corn, they expect to bring more varieties of corn seeds, different products that can combat disease and environmental factors, and speed development of new products to suit the Chinese market.

Michael Mack, chief operating officer of seeds at Syngenta, said:"[Sanbei] has strong commercial operations and an attractive product portfolio. Together with Syngenta's expertise in corn breeding this will result in improved and broader product availability for Chinese growers."

The deal is not regarded as one that will have a bearing on Syngenta's global operations. Syngenta will not exploit Sanbei's technology outside of China, since Chinese law provides that home-spun intellectual property should stay in the country.

The Sanbei deal is expected to significantly grow Syngenta's corn business in China. In 2006 Sanbei reported sales of approximately US$30m, but due to the fragmented market Syngenta prefers not discuss market share.

The terms also not being disclosed, since the transaction is subject to approvals by the Chinese authorities. Syngenta expects no problems, but such procedures can take quite some time, and it is difficult to predict when it will be concluded.

In full year 2006 Syngenta's earnings per share were up 14 per cent to $8.73, crop protection sales were up 1 per cent at $6.4 billion and new product sales up 25 per cent to $985 million.

Although sales were one per cent lower than the previous year at $8.05 bn, the company was bullish about its performance.