Richmond Hill, Ontario-based Cathay Forest Products Corp., a company that manages approximately one million hectares of standing timber properties and poplar plantations in China and Russia, has signed a $2.9 million purchase agreement to acquire 40 per cent of biodiesel production company, Eco-Energy China Group, located in the southwestern province of Guizhou, China. Eco-Energy currently owns a 40,000 hectare jatropha curcus plantation and has recently completed a biodiesel refinery for processing jatropha seeds into biodiesel. Eco-Energy also owns and operates a multi-feedstock biodiesel refinery designed and constructed by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. The investment will allow Cathay Forest to advance into the world of biofuel production utilizing forestry assets and byproducts.