Stora Enso strengthens its presence in Guangxi
STORA ENSO OYJ Press Release 10 November 2005 at 10.00
Stora Enso strengthens its presence in Guangxi
Stora Enso has signed an agreement with Gaofeng Forest Pulp &
Paper Company to purchase 34 000 ha of timber and land use
rights in several state-owned farms owned by Gaofeng, a company
assigned by the Guangxi government to be the Chinese owner of an
integrated forest, pulp and paper project in southern coastal
Guangxi. The agreement enables Stora Enso to increase the area
of land concession rights and wholly-owned plantations in
Guangxi province in southern China to about 60 000 ha.
Stora Enso started investing in Guangxi in 2002 with the aim of
establishing 120 000 ha of industrial hardwood plantations to
provide fibre for integrated pulp, paper and board production in
southern Guangxi.
We have started the application process for an integrated
forest industry project in Guangxi, including annual production
capacity of about 1 000 000 tonnes of chemical and chemi-
thermomechanical pulp, and about 1 000 000 tonnes of paper and
board. Guangxi is one of the few places in China where Stora
Enso could build a pulp, paper and board mill complex close to
plantations, explains Markku Pentikäinen, President of Stora
Enso Asia Pacific.
The industrial development project in the region is subject to
final approval by Stora Ensos Board of Directors.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has carried out
an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) of the
Guangxi plantations with the aim of assessing all their
environmental and social impacts and recommending how any
adverse effects might be minimised. This assessment has included
scenarios of up to 120 000 ha of plantations.
Stora Enso in China
Stora Ensos Suzhou Mill in Jiangsu Province with an annual
production capacity of 240 000 tonnes is one of the largest
manufacturers of coated fine paper in China. In Hangzhou Stora
Enso has a core factory with an annual production capacity of
30 000 tonnes.
For further information, please contact:
Markku Pentikäinen, President, Stora Enso Asia Pacific, tel. +86
137 643 00175
Kari Tuomela, President, Guangxi Stora Enso Forestry, tel. +86
139 786 61368
www.storaenso.com
www.storaenso.com/investors
STORA ENSO OYJ
p.p. Jussi Siitonen Jukka Marttila