Establishment of a Joint Venture Meat Business with Sichuan New Hope Agribusiness Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Corporation (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Susumu Kato; hereinafter "Sumitomo") has agreed to enter into a joint venture meat business in China with Sichuan New Hope Agribusiness Co., Ltd. (Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China; Chairman: Liu Yonghao; hereinafter "New Hope Agribusiness"). The joint venture to be established in Beijing under this agreement will undertake the processing, export/import, and sales including retail of pork and other meats, with a view to achieving sales of 10 billion yen at the earliest possible time.

Since its establishment in 1998, New Hope Agribusiness has been engaged mainly in the production and sales of feed and dairy products, meat processing, and investment as a core company of the New Hope Group, China's largest agribusiness enterprise. The New Hope Group, which has a 45.1% stake in New Hope Agribusiness, and Sumitomo signed a memorandum regarding this meat business last year, and have since then been discussing how they can develop a strategic partnership.

Along with the increase in consumption of pork in China where the economy is growing fast, it is expected that demand for high-value-added products that pay attention to utmost safety will rise sharply. By combining Sumitomo's quality control and marketing techniques built through the company's rich experience in the development and traceable supply of pork products and New Hope Agribusiness' comprehensive meat operations, the new company will offer a stable supply of safe meat. The new company is expected to sell 30,000 to 40,000 tons of meat every year to processed food manufacturers, volume retailers, restaurant chains, and other businesses that attach importance to quality.

【Overview of the new company】
Name:                  Beijing Xin You Food Co., Ltd.
Main business:   Export/import of meat and foods, internal sales
Investment:        20 million RMB
Investment ratio: Sichuan New Hope Agribusiness Co., Ltd. 51%
                                  Sumitomo Corporation 34%
                                  Sumitomo Corporation (China) Holding Ltd. 15%

【New Hope Group Co., Ltd.】
Chairman:            Liu Yonghao
Main business:     Food, agricultural and livestock business;

                                 resources and chemical business; real estate and development;

                                 finance; business investment
No. of employees: 60,000
Capital:                     800 million RMB

【Sichuan New Hope Agribusiness Co., Ltd.】
Chairman:             Liu Yonghao
Main business:      Production and sales of feed and dairy products,

                                 meat processing, investment
No. of employees:  10,300
Capital:                      830 million RMB