China: Agriculture startup Wangjiahuan closes $58m Series A led by GLP

Boxes of fruits and vegetables sit at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx borough of New York, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. Photographer: John Taggart/Bloomberg

By Ka Kay Lum

August 6, 2018

China’s agriculture product distributor Wangjiahuan has closed an RMB400 million ($58 million) Series A round led by Singapore-based logistics solution provider Global Logistic Properties.

The investment by GLP was made through the RMB10-billion ($1.46 billion) Hidden Hill Modern Logistics Private Equity Fund which was established in May for logistics investments.

The fresh capital will be used to develop a blockchain-based food quality control platform, a big data cloud platform to collect and analyze data to improve logistics and to expand Wangjiahuan’s operations across China by building warehouse centres.

“The investment to Wangjiahuan is an important investment for GLP as it helps us to integrate the resources of our food and even logistics portfolio companies to help upgrade and complete the food service industry,” said GLP chief investment officer and Hidden Hill chairman Dong Fanghao.

Founded in 1995, Wangjiahuan is a food distributor for government agencies and institutions. The company has formed six core sections of base management, warehousing centres, logistics and distribution, central kitchen, group meal service and e-commerce.

It has over 200,000 acres of high-quality plantation through the country and has obtained the general distribution rights for more than 200 food brands nationwide. More than 500,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables were purchased from Wangjiahuan’s upstream base on an annual basis.

Another agriculture startup Songxiaocai had also raised an RMB180 million ($26.4 million) in a Series B2 round recently. GLP was also an investor in the startup’s earlier Series B round.

Also read:

China: GLP leads $36m Series B investment in Songxiaocai

Logistics major GLP announces launch of $1.6b debut PE fund

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW

Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
APPLY NOW