Largest Sino-British Joint Venture

Pilkington's links with China were first established in 1924 with the creation of Pilkington Brothers (China) Ltd. The company operated a warehouse in Shanghai from 1933 utill 1937, when the firm was wound up. The connection was renewed at a considerably more significant level in 1983 when Shanhai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Co Ltd (SYP), the largest Sino-British joint venture in China, was founded. The company's first float glass plant was built in Shanghai and came on-stream in 1988. In 1993, SYP became the first joint venture company to be floated on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, raising sufficient capital to construct a second float line, which started production at Pudong in 1996.