Arabic version: يونغجي هيلث تسيطر على تاسمانيان بوتانيكس

According to ABC News, Chinese-owned Yongji Health has taken almost complete control of Tasmanian Botanics, one of Australia’s largest medicinal cannabis cultivators.

Company documents show Yongji, a subsidiary of a Guizhou-based company, took full control of Pijen, which owns more than 95 per cent of Tasmanian Botanics shares. Yongji had already been a part-owner of Pijen and bought the remaining shares from Australian shareholders in a deal reported by industry publication Cannabiz to be worth about $31 million.

Tasmanian Botanics grows, manufactures and packages medicinal cannabis products at its Pontville farm and processing facility in southern Tasmania. The site employs more than 150 people and includes a greenhouse, an outdoor crop of about 2.5 hectares, and packaging and manufacturing facilities.

Chief executive Craig Knight said operations and staffing would remain unchanged, describing the arrangement as “business as usual” for workers and customers. He said Yongji wanted the business to remain as it is or become bigger, with no issues expected around job security or operational changes.

Yongji is a subsidiary of Guizhou Yongji Printing, a cigarette packaging company listed on the Shanghai stock exchange. The takeover comes as Australia’s medicinal cannabis industry faces increased competition from overseas manufacturers, particularly in Thailand. The Foreign Investment Review Board has been contacted for comment.