(Yicai Global) July 15 -- Cash-strapped Chinese fresh food e-retailer Missfresh has received a CNY200 million (USD29.6 million) lifeline from coal to tourism conglomerate Donghui Group to pool resources in fresh produce supply and distribution.

The pair will “strategically cooperate on a range of initiatives around the agriculture supply chain including agricultural branding, contract farming and supply chain management” as well as sales and marketing, the Beijing-based firm said yesterday.

“This partnership will help us advance our fresh food supply chain capabilities and provide a superior grocery shopping experience for consumers in China,” said Zheng Xu, founder, chairman and chief executive of Missfresh, adding that the investment is a meaningful source of capital to fund the company’s business development.

Missfresh will welcome the cash injection. Poor earnings have caused its share price to crash 97 percent since it listed on the Nasdaq in June last year at an issue price of USD13 apiece. Yesterday, the stock [NASDAQ:MF] closed up 1.2 percent at USD0.38.

The company is expecting its losses last year to more than double from the year before to CNY3.7 billion (USD547 million), according to its third-quarter report last year. The firm has still not released its 2021 annual report.

Central Shanxi province-based Donghui started out as a coal company in 2005, and has since branched into many areas including energy, nonferrous metals, tourism and agriculture. It runs companies in Beijing, northern Shanxi province, eastern Jiangsu province, southwestern Yunnan province and the island getaway of Hainan province, as well as in Queensland, Australia.

Editor: Kim Taylor