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Japan's First Frozen Tuna Storage, Processing and Sales Company to be Established in China

Jan. 9, 2003

TOKYO(January 9, 2003)--At the end of January 2003, Nissho Iwai Corporation, together with a leading general fishery company, Dalian Zhanzidao Fishery Group Co., Ltd.(Zhanzidao Fishery), will establish Dalian Global Foods Ltd.(Global Foods), a company for the storage, processing and sales of frozen tuna for fresh consumption, mainly for sashimi and sushi. Global Foods, in which Nissho Iwai group will have a 51% investment, and Zhanzidao Fishery which will have a 49% investment, will store, process and market frozen tuna in China, where the food service industry is experiencing remarkable growth.

No Japanese company has ever made inroads into China to store, process and market frozen tuna in a consistent manner, and Nissho Iwai will be the first to do so. The cold storage warehouse, which will be on the scale of 2,000 tons (frozen tuna storage capacity: 700 tons), is scheduled for completion at the end of November 2003. Frozen tuna will be marketed, in collaboration with Zhanzidao Fishery, through the Nissho Iwai Group network, by companies such as Nissho Iwai (China) Co., Ltd., with marketing activities centered on coastal cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian, where the upper income bracket is increasing. Initial plans are for 200 tons per year to be sold, mainly to Japanese restaurants and high-class restaurants, with 350 tons per year to be sold in 5 years time.

In the 'Medium-term Management Plan', Nissho Iwai sees the consumer products area, including food products, as one of the core business areas. With the theme of "Reliable, Safe, Delicious and Healthy", the company continuously and widely promotes its business, including the handling of organic foodstuff such as soy beans, rice and dried noodles from the middle of 1990's, ahead of other trading companies, and from last year, commencement of delivery of toxic substance free Saudi Arabian farm-raised shrimp.

In China, it is expected that foodstuffs which until now could only be afforded by those in the upper income bracket, will become more widely available due to the economic effects of China's entry into the WTO and of the holding of the Olympic Games in Beijing. In such an environment, Nissho Iwai, together with Zhanzidao Fishery, will proceed with the sale of frozen tuna in China, taking advantage of frozen tuna management and sales experience of which the company has a fine track record.

<Outline of Dalian Global Foods Ltd.>

Address Dalian, China
Capital 4.3 million US$
Stockholders and
Stockholding Ratio
Nissho Iwai Group - 51% 
Zhanzidao Fishery - 49%
President Takumi Nishimura
Board of Directors Nissho Iwai - 3 
Zhanzidao Fishery - 2
Number of Employees 40 (plan)
Scope of business Frozen tuna warehouse management, processing and sales
Warehouse Completion Scheduled for the end of November 2003

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