Chinese Investors Commit Over US$137 Million To Expand Yeast Production Plant In Lipetsk

The Chinese-owned Angel Yeast Rus LLC, a subsidiary of China’s Angel Yeast, will invest over ₽11 billion (US$137.2 million) in constructing the third stage of a yeast production facility in the Lipetsk region, the regional government has announced.

An agreement was signed by Lipetsk region Governor Igor Artamonov and Angel Yeast’s CEO, Ming Hua Xiao, during a recent Russian business mission to China.

The investment will complete construction of a third production line and fulfill the capability for the company to produce 22,000 tonnes of yeast per year, expected to be by the end of 2027. Angel Yeast stated that “After the project’s implementation, the enterprise will be able to produce 55,000 tonnes of dry yeast, 3,000 tonnes of food ingredients, and 92,000 tonnes of liquid organic fertilizers or feed per year.”

Yeast production at the Angel Yeast plant in Lipetsk first began in 2019. The construction of the first stage was carried out from 2016, with investment at ₽7 billion. An agreement was then signed to build the second stage of the enterprise within two years, with an investment of ₽2.6 billion, providing for an expansion of capacity to 32,000 tonnes of dry yeast and 42,000 tonnes of organic fertilizers per year.

Angel Yeast was established in 1986 and specializes in researching, developing, and producing yeast, yeast extracts, and their derivative products—feed additives, biological substrates, and pharmaceutical raw materials. The company’s products are supplied to more than 170 countries. Angel Yeast’s production bases are located in 13 cities worldwide, including Egypt and Russia.

Many types of yeasts are used for making many foods: baker’s yeast in bread production, brewer’s yeast in beer fermentation, and yeast in wine fermentation and for xylitol production. Yeasts include some of the most widely used model organisms for genetics and cell biology.

According to the Russian Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Angel Yeast Rus LLC was registered in August 2015. Their 2024 Russian revenues reached just over ₽8 billion, increasing from ₽6.8 billion in 2023, and realized a net profit for the company of ₽959 million (US$11 million). Russia is increasingly seen as an attractive investment-grade destination throughout Asia yet is mainly ignored by the West.