In today’s talking points: Australian vitamin giant to open luxury retail stores in Australia and China; China’s third largest winemaker invests $120 million in Australian vineyards; National gene bank launched in Shenzhen; China home to world’s largest number of Alzheimer’s patients
Australian vitamin giant to open luxury retail stores in Australia and China
Australia’s third largest vitamins company, Natures Care is planning to open high-end luxury retail stores in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Shanghai and Hong Kong. The company is planning to use its black-label range to market to high-end consumers and wealthy tourists coming from Asia. The company is looking to fill a gap in the market for an ultra-premium range, much like Nespresso does with its high end coffee-maker outlets. General manager of Nature Care has said that sales revenue has been 151 per cent higher than it was during the same period last year, with around 40 percent of the company’s products being consumed by people in China.
Read more at: Financial Review
China’s third largest winemaker invests $120 million in Australian vineyards
Weilong Grape Wine Company has agreed to purchase three vineyards in Australia with an investment of $120 million. All the wine produced at a wine-making facility in Mildura will be exported to China in order to meet growing demand from Chinese consumers looking for higher quality wine. Australia currently ranks second in the amount of imported wine being sold to China. Weilong has cited the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement as a reason for the investment. Under the FTA, Australian wine exports to China will incur no tariff fees by 2019.
Read more at: Financial Review
National gene bank launched in Shenzhen
On Thursday the China National GeneBank was opened in Shenzhen. The centre covers an areas of over 47,500 square meters, and stores more than 10 million bio-samples. Mei Yonghong, director of the CNGB, said the gene bank was not only a database, but combined a bio-information bank, a bio-samples and genetic resources bank and a living resources bank of plant, animal and microbe species. “Generally speaking, we collect biological resources in the world, read the genetic data of living things with sequencers, use super computers to obtain the results and write the gene code on the synthesis and editing platform,” Mei said. The centre has won acclaim from the leaders of other major gene databases, with which it has implemented agreements to collaborate in the future.
Read more at: Xin Hua Net
China home to world’s largest number of Alzheimer’s patients
Wednesday September the 21st was World Alzheimer’s Day, a date organised by various international Alzheimer’s organisations to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and dementia. China has an increasingly aging population and more people living with Alzheimer’s than any other country in the world. By 2050 it is expected that the number of Chinese Alzheimer’s sufferers will increase to 30 million. According to Gerald T. Lim of the ASC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre, “Most Chinese people don’t even know Alzheimer’s is a disease”, which makes public awareness campaigns about the importance of detecting and diagnosing Alzheimer’s all the more important.
Read more at: CCTV