Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced that a subsidiary of its Global Engineering and Construction (E&C) Group has signed an equity purchase agreement with CEFOC (The Fourth Construction Company Ltd. of China Electronics System Engineering) to purchase a 49% share in its Chinese Design Institute, PECHDI.

The co-owned design institute is now a joint venture (JV) named Foster Wheeler (Hebei) Engineering Design Company Limited, through which Foster Wheeler Global E&C Group and CEFOC will execute business in China.

Foster Wheeler (Hebei) Engineering Design Company Limited is fully licensed to engineer, procure and construct process facilities in China under single contracts, and it possesses Class A design licenses in the “Chemical, Petrochemical and Pharmaceutical” industry. Under Chinese law, this industry grouping includes other key business sectors for Foster Wheeler: upstream, refining and power.

Foster Wheeler has management control of the new JV company, whose management center is based in Foster Wheeler’s Shanghai office. The existing PECHDI offices in Shijiazhuang, Beijing, Tianjin, and Suzhou have become part of the new JV company; these are well-established operations that have served clients in the refining, chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical sectors for 60 years. The new JV company also includes Foster Wheeler’s existing Shanghai operations. The combination of PECHDI resources and Foster Wheeler’s Shanghai operations immediately creates a workforce of more than 600 qualified technical personnel.

“This enables us to deliver the full value chain of services that our clients in China are demanding, and represents a key milestone in our growth strategy in China,” said Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer, Foster Wheeler AG. “This is truly an exciting development for our business in China.”

About Foster Wheeler AG
Foster Wheeler AG is a global engineering and construction company and power equipment supplier delivering technically advanced, reliable facilities and equipment. The company employs approximately 13,000 talented professionals with specialized expertise dedicated to serving its clients through one of its two primary business groups. The company’s Global Engineering and Construction Group designs and constructs leading-edge processing facilities for the upstream oil and gas, LNG and gas-to-liquids, refining, chemicals and petrochemicals, power, mining and metals, environmental, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and healthcare industries. The company’s Global Power Group is a world leader in combustion and steam generation technology that designs, manufactures and erects steam generating and auxiliary equipment for power stations and industrial facilities and also provides a wide range of aftermarket services. The company is based in Zug, Switzerland, and its operational headquarters office is in Reading, United Kingdom.