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.