melbourne, australia &mdash australianbased global packaging company amcor ltd. is buying a chinese flexible packaging business for 211 million rmb us31.4 million.image by amcor ltd.amcor ltd. added to its flexible packaging operations with the purchase of a chinese firm.the sale will be finalized in the first half of 2015.zhongshan tian cai packaging co. ltd. has one plant in zhongshan, in china&rsquos guangdong province. it has annual sales of about 280 million rmb us45.2 million.melbournebased amcor said in a statement that tian cai produces flexible packaging products for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical end markets and supplies chinese and multinational customers.the company was established in 1998. its current owner is selling because tian cai is not a core business.amcor&rsquos statement said &ldquothis acquisition will complement the existing food and beverage business and broaden amcor&rsquos capabilities within the south china region to include pharmaceutical packaging.&rdquoamcor said it already is southern china&rsquos market leader, with three flexible packaging plants in the region, including one it already owns in zhongshan. it has another seven plants in china.amcor managing director and ceo ken mackenzie said &ldquochina is one of the most attractive markets for flexible packaging globally. the tian cai acquisition is a strong fit with our existing operations and provides an opportunity to further expand amcor&rsquos customer base and product offering in the south china region.&ldquoamcor has a strong and successful position in the chinese flexible packaging market with 10 operations covering all key regions and annualized sales of us500 million.&rdquotian cai&rsquos plant is close to amcor&rsquos zhongshan plant. amcor executive general manager corporate affairs john v. murray said it is likely both plants will continue to operate.tian cai&rsquos u.s. agent is panco packaging, in san mateo, calif.amcor&rsquos profit in the year to june 30 was a737 million us602 million. tian cai is the first purchase by amcor&rsquos flexibles asia pacific division since it bought an indonesian flexible packaging business, jakartabased bella prima packaging ltd., for a27 million us22 million in may.murray said amcor plans to build a new plant in the philippines to manufacture food and beverage packaging. he said the plant&rsquos cost has not been disclosed and amcor is still selecting a site. 
