Companies

Coca-Cola Co sees fizz in China

By Ding Qingfen (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-08 13:56

Coca-Cola Co staff line up outside the company's bottling plant in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, on Oct 29. Coca-Cola is opening three new bottling plants in China this year, part of a three-year $2 billion investment in China. [Photo / Agencies]

HOHHOT - While many foreign businesses are complaining about China's investment environment and considering transferring their factories elsewhere, others, notably The Coca-Cola Company, are not only staying put but expanding.

Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company

The beverage maker announced in October the opening and near completion of three new bottling plants with a total investment of 1.6 billion yuan ($239 million). They are located in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and the provinces of Henan and Guangdong.

The three new factories are part of the company's $2 billion three-year investment plan launched in 2009.

"Wherever I have been in China, there have never been more willing and supportive local governments, and there is great entrepreneurial spirit in government officials to promote (inbound) investment. That is what we always see, (and) I think that continues," said Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of The Coca-Cola Company.

"That is also why Coca-Cola continues to invest and build factories very quickly, more quickly than in other parts of the world," he added.

"The investment plan has been going well and we will be ahead of schedule by the end of this year. This is all attributed to the friendly economic and investment environment in China."

Chinese government officials have repeatedly emphasized that China welcomes foreign investment and will create a more business-friendly environment. In April, the State Council launched new investment guidelines offering preferential policies on tax and land use and encouraging more investment in the service sector.

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China's economy rose by 9.6 percent in the third quarter. The nation overtook Japan as the second largest economy during the first half and is set to do so in the second. In the framework of its 12th Five-Year (2011-2015) Plan, the Chinese government vowed to rapidly increase people's income and transform the economic development model to one that is more domestically consumption-oriented rather than export-driven.

"The new Five-Year Plan will benefit consumer product companies such as Coca-Cola, and we are confident about Chinese business," said Kent.