Jianlibao management in dispute
By Lu Haoting (China Daily)
Updated: 2004-12-24 09:05

A big question mark, rather than a Christmas jingle bell, dangles in front of Jianlibao on its road to regain its leading position in China's soft drink market.

Jianlibao Group Co Ltd's two largest new shareholders yesterday released a joint statement in Beijing, more than two weeks after they were driven out of the Guangdong-based company.

"The purchase of the 91.1-per-cent stake of Jianlibao on November 16 is legal, authentic, valid and is out of the old shareholders' own will," according to the statement jointly released by Huizhong Tianheng Investment Co and Beifang Hengtai Technology Investment and Management Co.

Ye Honghan and Zhu Weisha, former shareholders of Jianlibao, also signed the statement.

The new shareholders will resort to legal protection with regard to all the losses created by "the working group" which "illegally" took over Jianlibao's management on December 6 and sacked 29 senior managers a few days later, the statement said.

"The reason the stake transfer has not been officially registered at the local industry and commerce administration is that the State-asset Investment and Management Co of Sanshui had taken over Jianlibao's official seal," the statement said.

"We have talked with the Foshan municipal government and the government has been active in solving this dispute, but we don't have access to negotiate with the Sanshui district government," said Jiang Ji, president of Huizhong Tianheng.

Comments from the Foshan and Sanshui governments were not immediately available.

"Sanshui Jianlibao Trading Co now manages the operation of Jianlibao and production has resumed," Song Deping, director of the Sanshui district government, was quoted as saying by Beijing Youth Daily on Wednesday.

"The most urgent task now is to keep the brand of Jianlibao and we will look for strategic investors later," Song said.

Sanshui Jianlibao Trading Co was established on December 6 by the Sanshui government, media reported earlier.

On November 16, Huizhong Tianheng bought a 68-per-cent stake of Jianlibao, which is based in Sanshui District in Foshan, in South China's Guangdong Province.

Beifang Hengtai purchased 23.1 per cent of Jianlibao.

The two companies, combined, control 91.1-per-cent shares of the soft drink maker.

The State-Asset Investment and Management Co of Sanshui retains an 8.9-per-cent stake.

The deal's value is not available.

The two new shareholders pumped more than 100 million yuan (US$12.048 million) into Jianlibao to resume production, the statement said.

Production resumed on December 6.

But on the same day, a working group led by Song took over Jianlibao's management without "showing any legal document" and called off the production, the statement said.

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