News Release

07
04Month
2017

CIMC Raffles Signs a Letter of Intent on Construction Project with a Total Value of USD 250 Million and Enters into Strategic Cooperation Contract with a Norwegian Partner

Publisher:CIMC   

The 2017 China-Norway Business Summit, with the theme of Creating Sustainable Solutions for a Better Future, was held on Apr. 7, 2017. The Summit was hosted by Royal Norwegian Embassy in China and Innovation Norway and co-organized by All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and China Enterprise Confederation. The visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg attended the Summit and delivered a speech. As a representative of high-end offshore engineering equipment manufacturers in China, CIMC Raffles Offshore Limited (short as “CIMC Raffles” below) was invited to the Summit. CIMC Raffles signed a letter of intent on construction with a total value estimated at USD 250 million with a Norwegian partner. But the equipment to be built is not any drilling rig used for deep sea oil extraction but offshore cages used in farming of salmon in deep water of Norway.

 

5 deepsea net cages exclusively designed for the culture of Norwegian salmons

President Wang Jianzhong of CIMC Raffles and Chairman Heidi Baugst of Norwegian Ocean Aquafarms AS signed the Letter of Intent on Construction of Offshore Cages and the Strategic Agreement on China-Norway Aquaculture Cooperation, whereby the CIMC Raffles agreed to build 5 Hex Box offshore aquaculture cages for Norway to be used in deep sea farming of salmon. The agreement had an estimated value of USD 250 million. According to insiders, it is reported that the project enjoys a broad market prospect, evidenced by the fact that Norway only has the potential to accommodate 100 Hex Box aquaculture cages. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Vice-Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee Wang Qinmin witnessed the signing of the letter of intent and agreement.

 

In recent years, relying on its construction and assembly capacity of high-end offshore engineering equipment and after analyzing the features of salmon farming and Norway waters, CIMC Raffle has cooperated with Norwegian design and equipment companies to develop intelligent cages suitable for deep sea farming in Norway. These cages will free Norway’s salmon farming from fiord geographic restrictions while reaching out to open deep sea.

 

According to Wang Jianzhong, the offshore cages are 30-100 high, with a unit value of around USD 50 million. Meanwhile, CIMC Raffle is also developing sea cages suitable for Chinese waters applications. “We are developing sea cages used in farming of puffer, snakehead, yellow croaker and grouper, with the intention of providing you all with reliable, nourishing and contamination-free fishery products” said Mr. Wang.

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Leaders of two countries have been vigorously promoting Sino-Norwegian collaboration

According to CRI Online report, during the Sino-Norwegian Business Summit, Premier Li Keqiang and Norwegian PM Erna Solberg held talks at the Great Hall of the People. Li Keqiang said, “China is willing to establish an intergovernmental energy policy dialogue mechanism with Norway, deepen exchanges among enterprises of both countries, strengthen collaborations in energy and offshore engineering, co-develop third-party markets and carry out exchange and cooperation in agriculture, fishery, technological innovation, social security, policing and law enforcement, local cultures, etc. ” Solberg also expressed the hope for collaborations in agriculture, fishery, ocean, shipping, environment, finance, tax, investment, etc.

 

The positive state-level signal will offer a big picture of the cooperation between CIMC’s offshore enterprises and Norwegian counterparts.