Uni-President sales in China expected to surpass Taiwan's

Uni-President Enterprises Co (統一企業), Taiwan's largest food maker, expects sales in China to exceed those in its home market this year because rising incomes on the mainland mean demand is growing faster there.

Uni-President, which has invested more than US$300 million in factories across the Taiwan Strait during the past decade, said sales in China of instant noodles, tea-based drinks and commodities such as animal feed will outstrip those in Taiwan, Tony Su, chief finance officer at Uni-President, said.

"We have seen single-month sales from China exceed those in Taiwan, so we are confident overall sales in China this year will overtake those in Taiwan," Su said. "Taiwan is a saturated market, whereas China is big and its per capita income is rising."

Annual disposable income for each of China's urban households may have exceeded 7,500 yuan (US$906) last year, according to estimates by the National Bureau of Statistics. The world's most populous country estimates that its gross domestic product increased 8 percent last year.

Taiwan's economy probably expanded 3.27 percent last year as rebounding exports pulled the nation out of a record 2.18 percent slump the year earlier. The jobless rate was a record 5.2 percent last year.

"For Uni-President, China presents a `second spring,'" said Belinda Yu, who manages NT$8 billion (US$230 million) of assets at Jih Sun Securities Investment Trust Co (日盛投信).