StanChart buys in Chinese copper tube maker

Standard Chartered Private Equity Ltd, a unit of Standard Chartered Bank<2888>, and its partners have invested a combined US$90 million in China's top copper tube company, China Golden Dragon Precise Copper Tube Group.

As the lead investor, Standard Chartered injected a total of US$50 million in the world's largest precise copper tube manufacturer. Co-investors include the U.S. investment banks Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs.

The investment is the first pre-listing investment into a Chinese company by the global lender's private equity unit. After the deal, Golden Dragon will turn into a Sino-foreign joint venture.

Headquartered in Henan Province, Golden Dragon is the most advanced base for precise copper tube material research, development and technology innovation, with eight production bases and 13 output lines covering all key regions in China.

The company has an annual copper tube output of 200,000 tons and capacity of 300,000 tons, and accounts for the largest share of export of the key component of air conditioners. It also has a plant in Mexico that is being under construction and is expected to start operation by the end of the year.