PT Prasidha to set up instant coffee venture

PT Prasidha to set up instant coffee venture

JAKARTA (JP): PT Prasidha Aneka Niaga, a company listed on the
Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges, will set up a joint venture
with Japanese partners to produce instant coffee with an
investment of Rp 37 billion (US$16.7 million).

Prasidha stated yesterday that the joint venture was approved
by the company's shareholders in an extraordinary meeting on
Wednesday. It will be 20 percent owned by the Itochu Corporation
of Japan, five percent by Ueshima Coffee Co. Ltd. of Japan, 65
percent by Prasidha and 10 percent by PT Citra Buana Tunggal
Perkasa, a company whose assets were acquired by Prasidha last
year.

Itochu is a Japanese multinational integrated company, while
Ueshima is Japan's first company to develop technology for the
production of instant coffee and canned liquid coffee.

The statement quoted Prasidha's president, Mansyur Tandiono,
that an agreement on the joint venture will be signed early next
month.

Soon after the agreement is signed, the joint venture, to be
called PT Aneka Coffee Industry, will start constructing a plant
in Surabaya with the capacity to produce 3,600 tons of instant
coffee and 2,400 tons of ground coffee per annum, Mansyur said.

He said most of the instant coffee to be produced by the joint
venture will be exported, while most of its ground coffee will be
sold domestically. (riz)