Australian Country Choice (ACC), one of Australia’s largest privately owned, vertically integrated cattle companies, has agreed to a strategic joint venture with Chinese investment firm, Genius Link Asset Management (GLAM), reports ABC. The partnership, which has been in development for the past year, will create synergies between ACC’s sizable domestic supply chain and greater export opportunities in the Chinese market. ACC currently exports approximately 30% of its products to foreign markets.

 

Owned by the Lee family, ACC runs a cattle herd of more than 250,000 head on 2.4 million hectares in Queensland. The company also owns three feedlots, and a processing facility located in Brisbane with the capacity to process 1,125 head of cattle per day, and which sees the bulk of its output go to supply Coles supermarkets.

 

Although the partnership does not require a capital commitment from either party at this point, there is a possibility for future co-investment activity as the partners target potential projects within the Australian beef supply chain and within an export capacity.

 

“By combining our longstanding and recognised [sic] industry expertise with Genius Link's access to investment capital, the Lee family business can continue to build on its already significant beef interests,” said David Foote, ACC Group managing director, reports Beef Central. “Collectively we remain committed to expanding our domestic supply arrangements with our long term customer Coles, while with GLAM’s support; we believe we can accelerate the further development into international markets for Australian beef.”

 

GLAM, which also has had working relationships with agricultural businesses, including the Australian Agricultural Company and CPC, is also an acknowledged bidder for Australia’s S. Kidman cattle empire. Last year, as GLAM entered the bidding process for S. Kidman, Beef Central reports that the group’s vice chairman, Joel Chang, told the media that his intent was to “build a small Cargill”, adding that GLAM had $1 billion to deploy in support of its three-year Australian agribusiness expansionary plans.

 

“We see Australia as the food hub for the Asia Pacific region,” said Chang. “If you look at the region, from south-east Asia to Korea, Australia and New Zealand are the only two that have export capacity.”