Coca-Cola continues to punt on Chinese growth
The Coca-Cola Company is planning to spend an additional US$2 billion (A$3.1 b) in new plant and distribution infrastructure in the next three years in China, adding to their extensive investment in the ‘China story’.
The world’s largest soft drink producer is still pursuing a US$2.4 billion takeover of Chinese juice producers Huiyuan Juice Group and will speed up development of products to local tastes, they advised in a statement.
The company’s largest innovation and technology centre in Asia was opened in Shanghai on Friday, with the US$90 million centre a part of a three-year investment plan in China, Coca-Cola said.
“Our commitment and confidence in China never wavers,” Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of Coca-Cola Co., explained in the statement.
If the Huiyuan bid receives Chinese Government approval, it will be the largest acquisition of a Chinese firm by a foreign rival.
