Coca-Cola's First Chinese Majority-owned Bottling Plant Set upThe Coca-Cola Co. and the China National Cereals, Oil & Foodstuffs Import & Export Corp. (COFCO) signed an agreement on April 14 to establish the first Chinese majority-owned bottling joint venture involving Coca-Cola's operation in China.COFCO, a State-owned company, will have a 65 percent share of the venture, according to China Daily. The joint venture is a milestone in the last 20 years' cooperation between COFCO and Coke, with its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, said Zhou Mingchen, COFCO president. The enterprise, named COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd, will be based in Hong Kong, with its aim to further expand Coke's business in China. Coca-Cola wishes to establish more soft drink businesses in China's western region, and it will invest 150 million U.S. dollars in the country within the next five years, said Steve Chan, president of Coca-Cola (China) Co. Ltd. "Coca-Cola's business expansion in the region will promote the country's soft drink and related industries, including packaging and raw materials," Chan said. It spends about 600 million U.S. dollars each year in China for raw materials and packaging. Coca-Cola has up to now set up 24 bottling plants in China with a total investment of over 1.1 billion U.S. dollars. |
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