Chinese Firm Acquires L.A. Glass Company

A Chinese company linked to the military has bought controlling interest in a Los Angeles-based glass corporation, an official newspaper reported Sunday.

The China Daily said China Southern Glass Co. purchased 60% of the stock of Standard Glass Corp. of Los Angeles on April 27 as part of an effort to expand sales in the United States.

Officials of Standard Glass couldn’t be reached Sunday. According to a document filed with the California Secretary of State, Standard Glass has offices in Bell and was incorporated in March, 1991. The document lists Anne P. Lu of La Puente as president and Zorro Chen of La Puente as registered agent. The company apparently has no public shareholders.

Southern Glass is 26% owned by North Industries Co., which is China’s biggest weapons maker and controlled by the People’s Liberation Army.

In February, Southern Glass became the first Chinese company to sell special “B-class” shares to foreigners since the Communists took over in 1949. The company is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, one of China’s two stock markets, which have been operating since late 1990.

North Industries is one of many businesses in China partially or wholly owned by the military that has embraced market reforms in an effort to finance weapons purchases and develop advanced technology.

Zeng Nan, general manager of Southern Glass, was named chairman of the board of Standard Glass, the China Daily said.

Southern Glass also is considering buying an Australian company this year, the report said.

Southern Glass earned $3.7 million last year on revenue of $19.8 million, the China Daily said.

In the first three months of this year, Southern Glass had a profit of $2.4 million, an increase of 50% over the same period last year, the newspaper said.