Uni-President Enterprises aims to dominate Asia

Uni-President Enterprises Corp executive president Alex Lo, left, and chief executive officer Jason Lin address the media in Kaohsiung yesterday. PHOTO: JOYCE HUANG, TAIPEI TIMES

Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), the nation's biggest food conglomerate, yesterday celebrated its 40th anniversary by setting a goal of becoming a market leader in Asia in the next decade.

"[Now that we have built] a solid foundation, Uni-President's strength lies in its diversification [from the food and beverage sector into service-oriented businesses such as channeling, retailing and branding]," executive president Alex Lo (羅智先) said in Kaohsiung. "[We] have the potential to outcompete other Asian players in the next 10 years."

Lo was speaking at the company's Dream Mall (夢時代購物中心), where an exhibition was being set up to showcase Uni-President's achievements in the past 40 years.

In May, Lo said Uni-President aimed to best Asian competitors outside Japan within three years through acquisitions in China and India.

To outdo top-tier Japanese competitors, Uni-President Group's annual combined revenues, which reached NT$258 billion (US$7.93 billion) last year, will have to exceed the NT$400 billion level in the years to come.

Founded in August 1967, Uni-President started as a flour importer in southern Tainan's Yongkang City with an initial capital of NT$30 million. The company's capital has since grown to NT$33.5 billion and in late June the board targeted a further increase to NT$48 billion in the near future.

Uni-President employs more than 60,000 people and owns 7 brands with annual sales of NT$1 billion each as well as more than 40 brands with annual sales exceeding NT$100 million each.

With an eye on the future, the company has invested about US$350 million in China since 1992.

China contributes nearly 51 percent of the group's food business revenues, although Uni-President lags behind Taiwanese competitor Ting Hsin International Corp (頂新集團) in that market -- particularly in the instant noodle sector.

"China is a giant market. We will gradually expand our share [in the market] by increasing our investments and through mergers and acquisitions," Lo said.

While the company is bullish on China, Uni-President Group chief executive officer Jason Lin (林蒼生) said that doing business there requires totally different strategies.

Value-added products sell in Taiwan, where GDP per capita is relatively high, but fail to satisfy Chinese consumers, who favor products of quantity and size with low prices.

For example, Uni-President's “Left Bank Coffee” brand had not gone down well in China, Lin said.

The company had previously said it planned to follow the lead of 50 of its Taiwanese peers by listing on the Hong Kong stock market by the end of the year. But Lo yesterday refused to reveal a timetable for the move, saying only that “the market will decide whether we go public in Hong Kong, Bangkok or Singapore.”

Lo said that Uni-President's 40th anniversary theme was “Life of Value Evolution” (LOVE) and that the company would focus on branding and the four pillars of trade, distribution, manufacturing and strategic alliances.

“Our main goal is to facilitate a happier, better and richer life for all our customers,” he added.

Uni-President shares yesterday rose by NT$0.5, or 1.06 percent, to close at NT$47.7 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The stock has risen by 59.54 percent over the last 12 months.