Wahaha eyes Australian dairy farm investment

Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co, China's biggest beverage producer, plans to invest in dairy farms in Western Australia to expand its import channel for milk, Chairman Zong Qinghou said on the sidelines of the ongoing National People's Congress.

Wahaha, with assistance from the state government in Australia - which is conducting a three-month survey of local dairy farms - will make a decision after receiving the result of the survey, perhaps as soon as June, said Zong, an NPC deputy from Zhejiang province.

Zong, who was listed as the country's richest person in 2011, said that Wahaha will also set up milk-powder factories to produce the major ingredients for some of its beverages, which will be shipped to China.