Cathay Forest Products has signed a joint venture agreement to develop 39,600 hectares of standing timber in Guizhou Province in southwestern China.

The joint venture, with Hanfang Forestry Group will initially develop 6,600 hectares of standing timber. With the successful implementation of a sustainable harvesting plan, an additional 33,000 hectares of standing timber will be developed by the joint venture over a two-year period.

General terms of the deal involve Cathay Forest contributing cash and shares and HFG contributing the standing timber property. The evaluation period currently underway will determine the valuation of the timber assets on the property, which will be used to calculate Cathay's cash and share commitment. The area to be developed is near Guiyang City, which is on the eastern border of Guizhou Province and Hunan Province. The species of trees in this region include pine, fir, eucalyptus, mixed hardwood, and bamboo. Guizhou Province is one of China's less-developed Provinces with a relatively small population and rich in forestry resources.

Cathay Forest is a forest products company managing standing timber properties and developing fast-growth, high-yield poplar plantations in the Peoples Republic of China. Cathay Forest is building a world class forest products company through a customer base that includes the domestic Chinese pulp and paper industry and harvesting customers serving a variety of wood product industries.