(Yicai Global) Dec. 26 -- Foxconn Technology, the world's largest electronics contract manufacturer, and affiliate IDG Energy Investment have registered their joint venture to provide logistics services to the liquefied natural gas sector.

Foxconn unit Jusda Supply Chain Management International and IDG registered Jusda Energy Technology Shanghai on Dec. 21, IDG said in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Dec. 24. Jusda paid CNY102 million (USD15 million) for a 51 percent stake, IDG took a 39 percent share and its management team acquired the remaining 10 percent.

All three parties will have a pre-emptive right to invest further in the venture, with the final total investment not exceeding CNY500 million.

The joint venture will enable customers to obtain LNG resources in North America and the Asia Pacific region using IDG's natural gas resource network, per the trio's agreement. Jusda, Foxconn's logistics chain management platform, will help optimize distribution and reduce costs via its container transport network and using its bargaining power in the industry.

In China, LNG logistics is mostly focused around special road vehicles, ships and receiving stations -- using containers is a method still in its infancy. The stations are mostly owned by the three major state-owned oil companies, making it tough for smaller players to gain access to the sector.

Jusda plans to use containers to work around this, using shipping terminals to transport containers rather than specific LNG receiving stations and the country's gas pipelines. The gas can then be shipped via land, rail or river at a reduced cost.

The joint venture is the latest in a string of moves made by Foxconn as it looks to break into the energy sector. It pumped CNY25 billion (USD3.6 billion) into a factory for new-energy vehicle batteries last year, and has been investing in solar power plants. It also became the second largest shareholder in IDG Energy in January, when it paid HKD1.5 billion (USD190 million) in a private issuance to take its stake to 24.4 percent.

Editor: James Boynton