Origin Agritech Strengthens its Board of Directors

DES MOINES, Iowa, August 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Origin Agritech Ltd. (Nasdaq: SEED) ("the Company" or "Origin"), an agricultural biotechnology trait and corn seed provider, today announced that Mr. Weibin Yan and Dr. James Chen will join the Company's Board of Directors.

Mr. Weibin Yan, co-founder, Chairman, and managing director of Ausnutria Dairy Corporation Ltd, will join Origin's Board of directors as an independent board member. Mr. Yan's background includes former CEO, CFO and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co., Ltd; Vice-Chairman and CEO of Hunan XinDaxin Group Company; and an MBA from Hunan University. He will act as an independent non-executive director of the company.

Dr. James Chen, Ph.D., MBA, CFA, is currently CFO of Zhejiang Jishang Youxuan Dianzi Shangwu, Ltd., and Audit Committee Chairman of China Finance Online's Board of Directors. He served as Origin's CFO from 2012 to 2016. Dr. Chen's previous professional experience includes CFO of Aoxing Pharmaceutical, investment manager at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and senior research positions at Morgan Joseph and BB&T Capital Markets. He holds an MBA in finance and accounting from New York University and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut.

"On behalf of the Board, I extend a warm welcome to Mr. Yan and Dr. Chen," said Dr. Gengchen Han, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "As we focus on a new trait licensing model for the China market, it's important that we add greater experience, focus and strength to our Board.Our new Board members have more than ten years of experience serving on company boards and positioning publicly traded companies in our sector for growth and success. We are pleased to have them join us as we build upon Origin's momentum and continue to maximize shareholder value."

About Origin Agritech Ltd.

Origin Agritech Limited, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Zhong-Guan-Cun (ZGC) Life Science Park in Beijing, is China's leading agricultural biotechnology company, specializing in crop seed breeding and genetic improvement, seed production, processing, distribution, and related technical services. Leading the development of crop seed biotechnologies, Origin Agritech's phytase corn was the first transgenic corn to receive the Bio-Safety Certificate from China's Ministry of Agriculture. Over the years, Origin has established a robust biotechnology seed pipeline including products with glyphosate tolerance and pest resistance (Bt) traits. Origin operates production centers, processing centers and breeding stations nationwide with sales centers located in key crop-planting regions. Product lines are vertically integrated for corn, rice and canola seeds. For further information, please visit the Company's website at: http://www.originseed.com.cn or http://www.originseed.com.cn/en/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In this context, forward-looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and often contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "see," "will," "would," "target," similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about the consummation of the proposed transaction and the anticipated benefits thereof. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be realized. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control. Some of the important factors that could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in any such forward-looking statements are: failure to develop and market new products and optimally manage product life cycles; ability to respond to market acceptance for our seed products; rules, regulations and policies affecting products based on biotechnology; outcome of significant litigation and environmental matters, including realization of associated indemnification assets, if any; failure to appropriately manage process safety and product stewardship issues; changes in laws and regulations or political conditions; global economic and capital markets conditions, such as inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; security threats, such as acts of sabotage, terrorism or war, natural disasters and weather events and patterns which could affect products for the agriculture industry; and ability to protect and enforce the company's intellectual property rights. The company undertakes no duty to publicly revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of future developments, or new information or otherwise, should circumstances change, except as otherwise required by securities and other applicable laws.

SOURCE Origin Agritech Limited