CP Group reports no big disruption

The massive earthquake that hit southwestern China and killed more than 12,000 people on Monday has prompted many Chinese and foreign firms operating near the epicentre to suspend their operations.

However, Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), which runs seven feed mills and three Lotus retail supercentres in Chengdu city of Sichuan province, reported no serious damage to its operations.

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, meanwhile, cancelled his visit to China, scheduled for May 15-17, following the devastating earthquake.

CP Group vice chairman, Dr Ajva Taolanond said only factory fences were damaged while production facilities remained intact.

CP, better known in China as Chia Tai, has an annual production capacity of 360,000 to 380,000 tonnes of livestock feed and 400,000 tonnes of fish and shrimp feed in Sichuan.

Livestock and chicken farms operated by CP in the region also avoided damage, Ajva said, adding that all Thai staff working in Sichuan are now safe.

However, many workers did not return to their living quarters for fear of aftershocks.

"They preferred to sleep in cars and tents for safety. As of now, communications are still a problem," he said, adding that CP's plants are located about 100 kilometres from the earthquake's epicentre.

Meanwhile, a senior executive of Bangkok Bank, which has a number of branches in China, said the bank's operations as well as Thai clients are mostly in the eastern part of China so they were not affected by the devastating earthquake.

A spokesperson for Thailand's Kasikorn bank also reported no impact from the earthquake since most of the bank's business is in other parts of China.

However, Toyota Motor Corp said yesterday it has suspended operations at its plant in Sichuan during the day to check how badly its production facilities were damaged by the earthquake. 

Separately, Japanese retailer Seven and I Holdings said it would resume operations at all of its three supermarkets in the city of Chengdu after closing its doors on Monday for safety checks.  

China reported that the death toll has risen to 11,921 since a quake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale caused widespread damage on Monday.

Yesterday, the State Seismological Bureau reported a 6.1-magnitude aftershock in Wenchuan.

The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges suspended trading yesterday of 66 listed companies based in southwest China's Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality.

Although parts of China have been badly hit, analysts said the overall impact on the industrial sector looked likely to be limited as the worst-affected region is more dependent on agriculture than manufacturing.