Given the rapid economic developments of China and other emerging countries over the past decades, resources have been a hot topic in the world market. While people have focused more on mining resources such as petroleum and metals, some visionary investors / businessmen have already started switching their focus to biological assets.

According to Hong Kong Accounting Standard 41 – Agriculture, a biological asset is defined as a living animal or plant. Rather than covering all types of biological assets, the accounting standard only applies to biological assets that are related to “Agricultural Activity”. The definition of agricultural activity under the accounting standard is the management by an entity of the biological transformation of biological assets for sale, into agricultural produce, or into additional biological assets. Agricultural activity covers a wide range of activities, including, raising livestock, forestry, annual or perennial cropping, cultivating orchards and plantations, floriculture, and aquaculture (including fish farming). Examples of biological assets in relation to the above activities may include cattle, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, fish, shrimps, lobsters, abalones, vegetables, fruits, etc.