Nestle plans Asian base

Nestle plans Asian base

MANILA (AFP): Swiss food giant Nestle S.A. plans to make the
Philippines its base for launching chocolate products into
southeast Asia, a senior official of the company said yesterday.

Michael Garrett, Nestle S.A. executive vice president, said
the company plans to use newly-acquired Philippine Cocoa Corp.
for this purpose by listing it under the ASEAN Industrial
Cooperation (AICO) agreement to take advantage of tariff
incentives.

ASEAN is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations grouping
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Vietnam. The AICO scheme allows ASEAN member nations zero to
five percent tariffs on confectionery.

"The AICO presents a good opportunity for our company to
expand our confectionery sales in the region," Garrett told
reporters.