Uni-President Enterprises Co (統一企業), Taiwan's largest food company, is planning to team up with Japan's Kirin Beverage Corp to tap the expanding soft drink market in China, the company said yesterday.
In a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Uni-President said it will set up a 50-50 venture with Japan's biggest beverage maker to make tea, coffee and health drinks in the Beijing area.
"Uni-President is the largest non-alcoholic drinks producer in the greater China region, while Kirin is a famous soft drink company in Japan ... The team-up will allow effective resource sharing between the two companies and help bring out their collective competitiveness," the company said.
The new venture is expected to begin operating in the second quarter this year, but Uni-President didn't elaborate on how much it will invest in the joint venture and who will manage it.
Kirin Beverage is majority-owned by Kirin Brewery Co, Japan's second-largest beer maker.
"Beijing is investing in big projects for the 2008 Olympics and is home to 12 million people," Kirin Beverage said in a release. "We expect demand for soft drinks to expand greatly."
The news of the partnership between Uni-President and Kirin followed an announcement by Tingyi Holding Corp (
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