COFCO Capital completed the closing of its strategic investment in Nanjing Shineking Biotech Co., Ltd. (Shineking Biotech). It is the first strategic investment by COFCO Capita in bio-agriculture and new food, and, as the fund’s debut deal, signals its intention to build a presence in frontier biomanufacturing.
Founded in 2010 in Nanjing, China, Shineking Biotech has grown, drawing on the research team at Nanjing Tech University, into a leading player in China’s biostimulant industry and the world’s largest supplier of γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA). According to information published on the Nanjing Government website in August 2025, the company operates a production line with a capacity of over 10,000 tonnes and 1,500 m³ of fermentation capacity. It ranks first in China’s polyglutamic acid segment, with a market share above 60%.
Its core product, γ-PGA, is bioactive, safe, non-toxic, and fully biodegradable, and is widely used in agriculture (water retention and yield enhancement), soil improvement, personal-care moisturising, and food additives. Last year, the product was selected for China’s first batch of landmark biomanufacturing products, the only one chosen from Jiangsu Province. At the end of last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs approved the establishment of a key laboratory for microbial-derived biostimulants, supported by Shineking Biotech. It is the first ministerial-level key laboratory in this field in China, focusing on microbial resource discovery, research into modes of action, and breakthroughs in biomanufacturing technologies. The laboratory aims to overcome foreign technological barriers, develop green and efficient agricultural inputs, and drive the ecological and high-end upgrading of the agricultural input industry.
As a synthetic biology platform company with the world’s largest polyglutamic acid production capacity, Shineking Biotech has a biopolymer platform technology pathway that is highly synergistic with COFCO Corporation’s full industrial chain. This round of funding will mainly advance approval of sodium γ-polyglutamate as a new food raw material and accelerate market expansion in agriculture and food. It will also lay the groundwork for entering the food-grade application market and inject new momentum into Nanjing’s synthetic biology sector.
Going forward, COFCO Capital will leverage COFCO Corporation’s industrial scenarios and channel resources into agricultural inputs, food processing, and nutrition and health, working with other specialised companies within COFCO Corporation on joint R&D, raw material applications, and market expansion with Shineking Biotech. Together, they will move biomanufacturing technologies from the laboratory to the field and the food industry’s end applications, bridging the ″last mile″ in the industrialisation of synthetic biology outcomes. COFCO Capital will continue to focus on hard technologies related to its core business, empower frontier sci-tech innovators with capital, promote the deep integration of biotechnology with the agriculture and food industries, and support the high-quality development of the agricultural and grain industry chain.
