On 30th May 2013, Jotun COSCO Marine Coatings (Qingdao) Limited (“Jotun COSCO”), a joint venture of COSCO International engaging in the production and sale of marine coatings, held an opening ceremony for its new factory in Qingdao’s High-tech Industrial Development Zone. This marks the official commencement of operation of the production base project of Jotun COSCO, China’s leading marine coatings supplier, in Qingdao.

The distinguished guests who attended this ceremony included: Mr. Svein Ole Sæther, Norwegian Ambassador to China; Mr. Zhang Liang, Vice Chairman of COSCO International, Mr. Xu Zhengjun, Managing Director of COSCO International and Chairman of Jotun COSCO, Mr. Wang Jianping, Deputy General Manager of COSCO International, Mr. Odd Gleditsch d.y., Chairman of Jotun A/S, Mr. Morten Fon, CEO of Jotun A/S, Mr. Esben Hersve, Group Executive Vice President of Jotun A/S, together with Mr. Dong Zhaoming, President and General Manager of Jotun COSCO and Mr. Yang Jie, Deputy General Manager of Jotun COSCO. A total of about 450 guests, including representatives of the shareholders and the management of Jotun COSCO, customers, suppliers and business partners, also attended this ceremony and witnessed this important moment together.

Mr. Dong Zhaoming, President and General Manager of Jotun COSCO, said in his welcome speech at the opening ceremony, “The successful completion of Jotun COSCO’s Qingdao factory project was attributable to the guidance and support from the offices at all levels in Qingdao Municipal Government and High-tech Zone during the construction process of the Qingdao factory project. Our appreciation also goes to the close cooperation between the two shareholders and trust from the seated customers and business partners during the past long time. Jotun COSCO will continue to seize and create opportunities as usual to provide the most ideal solutions and high-quality marine coatings to ship owners and shipyards in China, and create greater values to shareholders, customers and the economic development for Qingdao.

Mr. Zhang Liang, Vice Chairman of COSCO International, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony, “As the joint venture between COSCO Group and Jotun A/S, Jotun COSCO leveraged on COSCO’s strong market potentials and resources, as well as Jotun A/S’s advantages in technology and wide distribution network at various ports, grasped the opportunity in the development of China’s marine coating market, and rapidly became the leading marine coating supplier in China. The success of Jotun COSCO was not only the win-win result of strong cooperation and complementation of advantages and mutual benefits between COSCO Group and Jotun A/S, but also a good example of China and Norway’s deepened economic cooperation.”

Mr. Odd Gleditsch d.y., Chairman of Jotun A/S, expressed his high expectation for the new factory, “The new plant will inherit the developing concepts in HSE (health, safety and environment) and leading technology of COSCO Group and Jotun A/S. It will bring new and innovative solutions to China’s maritime industry. Although the shipping industry has been facing huge challenges, we believe that the establishment of the new factory was the results of the long-term good cooperation between COSCO Group and Jotun A/S. It also highly reflected Jotun’s full confidence in the future growth of China’s marine coating market in the long-run. ”

Jotun COSCO is a 50-50 jointly controlled entity of COSCO International and Jotun A/S. Its new production base is located in Qingdao High-tech Industrial Development Zone, with a gross area of 85,333 square meters. The total investment amounted to RMB 316 million, and the annual production capacity reaches 67,500 tonnes, which makes the new factory as the largest and most advanced marine coating production factory in China, providing anti-corrosion and anti-fouling marine coatings with high performance in Mainland China and Hong Kong.

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