On the morning of March 21, 2017, the YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park LaunchingCeremony co-sponsored by Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (stock code: 6869.HK, hereinafter referred to as “YOFC”), Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd and Air Liquide Group was held in Qianjiang, Hubei Province, marking the smooth realization of the first-phase goal of YOFC to create the globally largest optical fibre manufacturing base, which will inject new vitality to the new-round development of optical communication market in China.

With strong support from the provincial and municipal governments of Hubei Province, Qianjiang City and the Salinization Industrial Park as well as the integration of the most advanced industrial chain resourceson a global scale, YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park represents the result ofYOFC’s vigorous exploration in the establishment of intelligent manufacturing as well as the development of circular economy and green manufacturing. It will become the globally largest and most competitive optical fibre preform manufacturing, research and development base after completion with an expected annual production value of more than 5 billion yuan.

Covering an area of 700mu, YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park will conduct the construction of three projects by stages, namely Yangtze Optical Fibre (Qianjiang) Co., Ltd, Yangtze Shin-Etsu (Hubei) Optical Preform Co., Ltd and Air Liquide (Qianjiang) Co., Ltd. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of YOFC, Yangtze Optical Fibre (Qianjiang) Co., Ltd is specialized in the research and development as well as production and manufacturing of optical fibre preform and optical fibre products. After completion, it will become the monomer factory of YOFC with the greatest production capacity as well as the largest manufacturing base of preform and optical fibre in the world. Yangtze Shin-Etsu (Hubei) Optical Preform Co., Ltd is the optical fibre preform project of joint venture constructed by YOFC and Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd, and it has adopted the currently most advanced OVD technology in the world, which will help to reduce the cost of production and further enhance the competitive advantage of optical fibre preform. Air Liquide (Qianjiang) Co., Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Liquide Group, which mainly produces and supplies such gases as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, helium, argon and carbon dioxide. Its products are mainly supplied to enterprises in the High-tech Industrial Park, thus powerfully supporting the supply of clean energy and the construction of circular economy in YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park. After a year of vigorous construction, equipment installation and debugging production, the first-phase project of YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park has been successfully put into operationtoday.

Zhou Jianwei, the former Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Executive Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Hubei Province, Hu Gongmin, Municipal Party Secretary of Qianjiang and Director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Hubei Province, Huang Jianxiong, Deputy Municipal Party Secretary and Mayor of Qianjiang, Li Xibin, member of the Standing Committee of Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Politics and Law Committee of Qianjiang and Xu Yiwei, Deputy Director General of Jianghan Petroleum Administration Bureau have been present at the Launching Ceremony and extended their congratulations. Ma Jie, Chairman of YOFC, Zheng Huili, one of the executives, Zhuang Dan, Executive Director and President, Jan Bongaerts, the Vice President, Zhou Lijing, the Vice President, Zhang Mu, the Honorary Vice President, Jiang Zhikang, the marketing and strategy director, Zheng Xin, the sales director, Wang Ruichun, chairman of the supervisory board and general manager of the research and development center, Qin Zhihong, general manager assistant of the finance center and manager of the investment management department, Luo Jie, technical director of YOFC and general manager of Yangtze Optical Fibre (Qianjiang) Co., Ltd, Masaki Miyajima, Managing Director of Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd, Sasho Hiroyasu, Chief of the Business Department of Shin-Etsu Chemical Precision Materials, Marcelo Fioranelli, Vice President of the Greater China Region of Air Liquide Group, Yan Jinping, COO of Air Liquide China, and leaders from the units engaged in the construction of YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park as well as leaders from the industry association and media have also attended the ceremony.

Zhang Mu, the honorary vice president of YOFC, introduced the overview of this grand gathering. Ma Jie, chairman of YOFC, addressed the LaunchingCeremony. He stresses that the construction of YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park serves as an important initiative of YOFC to be committed to promoting the connotative growth of communication industry with the new medium and long-term strategic development leading the way. In the High-tech Industrial Park, the VAD project independently researched and developed by YOFC will realize scale production and the independent optical fibre project will also achieve intelligent manufacturing. YOFC has made alliance with Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd to introduce OVD technology and create the world’s leading preform manufacturing base. YOFC has also worked together with Air Liquide Group as well as enterprises in the Salinization Industrial Park to promote green development and harmonious manufacturing in YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park with the concept of “developing the circular economy”.  YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park will boastthe world's leading optical fibre and cable intelligent manufacturing skills and become the most cost-competitive optical fibre and cable manufacturing, research and development base. Constructed by taking advantage of the opportunity on Jianghan Plain with the integration of superior resources of the global optical fibre and cable industrial chains, it will surely become a splendid pearl on this beautiful and rich land as well as a shining star of the global optical fibre and cable industry.

Zhuang Dan, executive director and president of YOFC, says that YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park serves as the result of cooperation among Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd, Air Liquide Group and YOFC to make progress together and their cooperation is a wise decision for the integration of superior resources of all parties in order to grab global market opportunities. In recent years, the pulling effect of informatization on economy has become a global consensus, so various countries in the world have viewed informatization construction as the top priority in nation-building. Optical fibre and cable serve as the key carrier for information transmission, and the industry is in a time of high-speed development. It is estimated that in the next five to ten years, the global market demand for optical fibre and cable will consistently stay at more than 400 million core kilometers, and China’s demand will consistently stay at over 200 million core kilometers. Motivated by the active demand, the optical fibre and cable industry is in the period of golden development for the obvious shortage of domestic optical fibre and cable market with supply falling short of demand and the global market is also accordingly short of supply. In face of the huge market opportunity, the launchingof YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Parkas scheduled undoubtedly conforms to the trend of the time. YOFC will firmly grasp the market opportunity, integrate global superior resources, keep a foothold in China and exert influences on the whole world to make YOFC Qianjiang High-tech Industrial Park the most influential optical fibre and cable manufacturing, research and development base on a global scale.