HAIKOU /China/, 1 July. /TASS/. The first Maltese company called Mediterranean Bluefin Industry Development has been registered in the free trade port of the southern Chinese province of Hainan.  It is owned by MFF Corporation, which operates fish farms in the Mediterranean.

The company was registered in Sanya on June 26. Malta-based MFF was founded in 1993 and has produced up to 500 tons of bluefin per year. The company has also been a regular supplier of bluefin tuna since 2002 and is one of the leading companies in the international sushi and sashimi market.

At the 6th China International Import Expo (CIIE) held in Shanghai last November, MFF's bluefin tuna made its debut in China and was a great success. This product attracted the interest of the leadership of Hainan Province and a special investment group was formed, led by one of the Vice Governors of the Province who visited Malta. This laid the foundation for future cooperation on related projects.

A delegation from MFF Corporation also visited Sanya City in May this year to see the benefits of Hainan's current free port policy. A representative of the company said that after registering a company in Sanya, MFF intends to start processing bluefin tuna and conduct relevant research on the farming of this fish. The company also hopes to cooperate more closely with Sanya City in deep-sea science, fisheries and other industries. MFF plans to take advantage of Hainan's free port conditions to further expand into other Southeast Asian markets.