Indofood greets competitors

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)