Sri Lanka China venture to make specialty tea

Jan 23, 2013 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Elpitiya Plantations Plc has formed a joint venture with China's Yunnan Dianhong Group to produce 'Chinese Specialty Tea' for export, the island's investment promotion agency said. The joint venture firm Elpitiya Dianhong Jin Ya Tea Company (Private) Limited has been formed with Dianhong International Limited, Hongkong, the BOI said.

"This high quality Chinese Specialty Tea is expected to cater to the high end market segment in Greater China," Sri Lanka's Board of Investment said in a statement.

"The project will pave the way for more foreign investment of this nature to the country with modern technology & machinery, which will expose more Sri Lankan tea products to the Chinese market."

Elpitiya Plantations is managed by Aitken Spence Plantation Managements Ltd, a unit of Sri Lanka's Aitken Spence group.