Oslo, Norway-headquartered Nordic Aqua Partners announced a new funding package to finance the Atlantic salmon farm it is currently building in Ningbo, China.
The new financing, which comes from two unnamed Chinese investors, will support the Ningbo project with a RMB 300 million (USD 42.1 million, EUR 35.8 million) cash infusion in return for a 20 percent stake in the company. The company said in a 25 September release that the funding will support the completion of Stage 2 of construction at the Ningbo facility, as well as the next phase of construction, which, when complete, will result in an annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons (MT).
Nordic Aqua Partners CEO Ragnar Joensen called the news “a major strategic milestone for Nordic Aqua.”
“Our longstanding collaboration with the Chinese institutions goes back to the very beginning of Nordic Aqua Ningbo. The introduction of two respected entities as strategic minority partners represents a natural evolution of that cooperation. It not only secures equity but also enhances our ability to scale sustainably – strategically, operationally, and commercially – to deliver high-quality Atlantic salmon for the Chinese market.”
The new financing, which is subject to final company approval at an upcoming general meeting, “will contribute to safe and sustainable food production while also creating potential synergies across the aquaculture value chain in Zhejiang Province and beyond,” Joensen added.
“The valuation corresponds to a pre-money valuation of Nordic Aqua Ningbo of RMB 1.2 billion [USD 168.3 million, EUR 144.4 million],” the company said.
In the same announcement, Nordic Aqua said that it had also reached an early-stage agreement with Bank of China’s Ningbo branch, as well as other major Chinese banks, to finance its existing facility in Gaotang and other projects.
“The new long-term financing by local banks will secure a stable financial platform for the completion and expansion of our production facility in China. In addition to invested equity by Nordic Aqua and the new investors, such major investment requires long-term financial support, and we are pleased with the support and confidence from the lenders,” Joensen said.
The company added that it was evaluating the potential for an IPO of Nordic Aqua Ningbo in China and Hong Kong.
The company’s expansion into land-based salmon farming in China has been underway since 2023, and despite a setback in which 190 MT of salmon was taken out of the market due to high concentrations of the compound geosmin in produced salmon, the project is on track for completion, with Joensen saying in February that the “Ningbo facility is back on track and stronger than ever.”
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