Investing pays off for town farmers

Guan Wenfei and Yang Wenjie

COLLECTIVE funds in Jiading’s Waigang Town have grown through wise management and investment.

Recently, a sum of 341.5 million yuan (US$48 million) gathered from 19 villages reaped an average of 14.5 million yuan in interest for each unit, after settlement of an investment to Shanghai International Automobile City Development Co Ltd through the town’s operation platform.

The funds are the deposits of farmers and it is essential to keep them safe. Beyond that, rather than letting the money sit idle, it is also of extra benefit to make the pool sustainable.

Thus some villages began to look for opportunities.

At the beginning of this year, an enterprise in the town intended to transfer its asset. Gangfeng and Chenzhou villages bought the quality asset, accounting for a 40-percent share and expecting 9.5 percent in annual profit.

In exploring the path, responsibilities were cautiously taken with the superior well informed and in charge of the account book, namely the town taking control of such affairs for the villages. And the operation platform of Lianxin Agricultural Development Co Ltd has been founded.

A management group has been started, with the town’s Party secretary acting as head. Meetings are held concerning significant investment matters.

The measure has turned out to be effective. An investment in a real estate project in Hong Kong in May is estimated to bring each of the 19 villages 13 million yuan in income.

Zhoujing Village, one of the stakeholders and previously in the status of “poor village,” used its profits to fix roads and bridges and is confident of eventually becoming well-off by following the path.