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)