By IANS
New Delhi : Tata Tea Tuesday said it has signed a joint venture agreement with a Chinese company to manufacture tea and allied value-added products in China at a project cost of $16 million in the first phase.
The pact was signed with the Zhejiang Tea Import and Export Company of China at an event at Anji County in Zhejiang and the project will come up at the economic development zone there, a Tata Tea statement said.
"This project is of great strategic importance for the Tata group in reaching out to the Chinese and Far East markets," Percy T. Siganporia, the managing director of Tata Tea, was quoted as saying after the signing ceremony.
The new venture will manufacture and market green tea polyphenols, other green tea extracts, cold and hot water soluble instant tea, liquid tea concentrates and other value added tea beverage products, the company said.
Tata Tea will own 70 percent of the registered capital of the joint venture and the project will be funded by a mix of equity and borrowings, according to the statement.
Anji County is also known as the City of Angel, China town of bamboo and China town of white tea.