GIC, Olympus Capital invest in dairy farm operator in China

A consortium led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and international private equity firm Olympus Capital has invested an additional 106 million U.S. dollars in Huaxia Dairy Farm in China, GIC said in a statement on Wednesday.

GIC said it is contributing 70 million U.S. dollars of the funding, while Olympus Capital Asia is putting in 30 million U.S. dollars. Other existing shareholders, including Grand River Capital, are investing the remaining 6 million U.S. dollars.

Olympus Capital Asia previously made investments in the farm operator. It now has invested a combined total of 108 million U.S. dollars in the company, making it the largest shareholder.

Established in 2004, Huaxia is a fast growing operator of modern dairy farms, which tries to meet the demand for high- quality raw milk in China. It also has its own quality milk brand.

Huaxia now operates three dairy farms in the city of Sanhe in Hebei province, near Beijing. The company is building a fourth farm in Xinghua, Jiangsu.

GIC said Huaxia will use the funding to expand the company's farming operations and retail dairy business. It will also use the funding to "further develop the company's industry-leading farm management technology, import additional heifers and drive the expansion of the Wondermilk brand," the statement said.