Thirteen fishing vessels controlled by Chinese firm Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd have obtained licences to operate off the coast of East Timor, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
The vessels were being modified to match the requirements of the East Timor Government, and the process should be completed before the end of the third quarter of this year, the statement added.
“This co-operation with [the] Democratic Republic of East Timor is an important step toward our development,” said Zhuo Xinrong, chairman of Pingtan.
“Our management will dedicate itself to further expanding our company’s harvesting regions; as a measure to reduce our dependency on a single territory and improve revenues, as well as promote the economic development [of East Timor],” he added.
Pingtan is a Chinese investor in the global fishing industry and is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in the United States. Many of its vessels currently operate in the seas around Indonesia and India.
