(UPDATE) THE Coca-Cola Co. is planning to invest $1 billion in the Philippines over the next five years as part of the multinational beverage firm's expansion in the country, Malacañang announced on Tuesday.
The commitment was made during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s meeting with Sabin Aboitiz, Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. (AEV) president and chief executive officer, and Sol Daurella Comadrán, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) chairman.
Both firms last week completed a $1.8-billion buyout of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines Inc. (CCBPI), the exclusive bottler and distributor of Coca-Cola products in the country, from The Coca-Cola Co.
"[W]e're very enthusiastic, and we see, we need to invest in the Philippines, invest to grow the business," Comadrán was said to have told Marcos.
"And in the next five years, we're planning for $1 billion investment, and in fact, we've even doing a new plant, which we are building in Tarlac," she added.
Marcos welcomed the announcement, saying "it's very encouraging that you have decided to expand your operations here."
"[W]e have the markets here ... our population is relatively young and so they are still very much in your market, and I can see how the expansion could work," he added.
Comadrán also said that Coca-Cola was committed to operating sustainably, particularly with regard to collecting and recycling plastics. The firm, she noted, already has a significant returnable glass bottle business in the Philippines.
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) last month cleared the acquisition of CCBPI by CCEP Aboitiz Beverages Philippines Inc., the holding company established by AEV and CCEP.
CCEP has a 60-percent stake in the venture while AEV holds the remaining 40 percent.
Following the PCC clearance and the closing of other conditions, the holding company acquired CCBPI's 2.4 billion shares of class A common stock with a par value of P2 and 1,000 shares of class B common stock with a par value of P1.
AEV and CCEP last November signed an agreement to jointly acquire CCBPI on a debt- and cash-free basis. This followed a nonbinding letter of intent entered into by the two companies with The Coca-Cola Co. in August.
CCBPI is the bottling arm of Coca-Cola in the Philippines. It produces and sells 17 brands including Coke, Royal, Sprite, Wilkins, Viva and Nutri Boost.
CCEP's has been expanding aggressively in the Asia-Pacific region, and the CCBPI acquisition made the European firm the world's largest Coca-Cola bottler both by revenue and volume.
AEV shares closed up 15 centavos, or 0.31 percent, to P49.20 apiece on Tuesday amid a 0.45-percent drop for the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index.
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