Indofood greets competitors

JAKARTA (JP): PT Indofood Sukses Makmur, the country's largest instant-noodle producer with 90 percent of the domestic market, says it warmly welcomes new competitors.

The company's president, Sudwikatmono, said after the opening of a bazaar organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade that the entrance of new players would increase healthy competition in the instant-noodle industry.

Sudwikatmono, as quoted by Antara Monday, confirmed that businessmen Hutomo Mandala Putra and Ricardo Gelael were about to enter the industry. He said they had consulted him on it.

He said that Indofood did not want to monopolize the instant- noodle industry.

But he said his company planned to raise its production capacity.

Up to 14 billion packets of instant noodles a year can be produced domestically.

Sudwikatmono said the Investment Coordinating Board had never objected to his company's plan to raise its production capacity, which is expected to increase the country's noodle exports. (10)