Richina Pacific Ltd., a New Zealand-based diversified investment company, has signed an agreement to provide automotive leather for the Chinese and world markets, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The report said a memorandum of understanding was signed last weekend with business partners – US-based Garden State Tanning Inc. and Shanghai state government-owned Shanghai Light Industry Holdings – and coincided with a visit to New Zealand by Chinese president Hu Jintao.

Dow Jones said Garden State Tanning customers include General Motors, Ford and Honda while Shanghai Light Industry is one the largest state-owned companies in Shanghai.

Dow Jones said that, under the agreement, Richina’s Shanghai-based leather unit will reach an output of up to 50 million square feet of automotive leather within two years and the leather will be sold mainly in the Chinese market, with Garden State Tanning to oversee international marketing.

New Shanghai production facilities to be completed in mid 2004 will triple annual production capacity to about 200 million square feet of leather, the report added.

Just Auto Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Auto Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Continental has secured the Window Displays Innovation Award in the 2025 Just Auto Excellence Awards for its Window Projection solution, transforming side windows into dynamic, data-rich canvases. Discover how this compact projection technology and intelligent software are reshaping in-car UX and opening fresh revenue streams for OEMs and mobility providers.

Discover the Impact