New plant for Zhongpin

Article Excerpt

ZHONGPIN $19.46 (Nasdaq symbol HOGS; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (086-10-8286-1788; www.zpfood.com; Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap: $675.8 million; No dividends paid) plans to build a new, state-of-the-art plant that will let the company produce 100,000 tonnes more prepared pork products, including Chinese-style, western-style, half-cooked and easy-to-cook pork. The new plant will let Zhongpin better meet rising demand in central China. The plant will also meet ever-tightening Chinese government meat-processing standards. Operating almost exclusively in China entails political and currency risk. However, China’s currency is more likely to rise than fall. Meanwhile, demand for higher protein foods, such as pork, continues to rise with the prosperity of China’s middle class. Zhongpin is still a buy. buy…