BOSEKI, MARUBENI SET UP FINISHING VENTURE IN CHINA
TOKYO — Nitto Boseki Co., a major Japanese textile manufacturer, and Marubeni Corp., a leading Japanese trading company, have established a joint-venture textile finishing company in Wuxi, China.
The aim of the venture initially is to provide service to Japanese-capital apparel factories operating in China and eventually to local Chinese factories. Production is expected to begin in 1997.
Called Nittobo (China) Co., the new venture is capitalized at $13 million, with Nittobo holding 75 percent, Marubeni 22.5 percent and Marubeni’s China-based subsidiary 2.5 percent, according to spokesmen.
Some $26 million will be invested to construct a mill capable of dyeing and finishing 2 million linear meters (2.19 million linear yards) of cotton, man-made fiber, and cotton blended fabrics per month in an industrial park in the city of Wuxi in Jaingsu Province. It will also handle processing of fusible lining and marketing of finished products.
The mill, which initially will employ 250 people, is expected to be doing a business of estimated $30 million in its third year of operation, according to Nitto and Marubeni.
The high yen is causing an increasing number of Japanese apparel manufacturers to move manufacturing to China for export to Japan and other markets, which is increasing demand for higher quality textiles in China for use in export apparel, Nitto noted.