L'Oreal China president Paolo Gasparrini and three of his senior managers met with the Communist Party Secretary of Yichang on 10 September and pledged to increase investment at annual rate of 69 per cent over the next three years to turn its plant in Yichang, Hubei province, into L’Oreal’s largest production facility in Asia.

In 2004, the France-based cosmetics and beauty giant bought the Hong Kong-based skincare company Mininurse, which was running a plant in Yichang. Today, the factory produces a range of products under the L’Oreal and MiniNurse brands. Mininurse is a leading name in China’s mass market skincare sector and is especially popular in the western region.

The plant’s output in 2008 exceeded Rmb80m and is expected to reach Rmb130m in 2009.

Yichang, situated in the west of Hubei, is the gateway to the Three Gorges Dam area.