Taiwan's MSG project in RI

Taiwan's MSG project in RI

TAIPEI (Reuter): Taiwan's Ve Wong Corp, one of the island's
major food manufacturers, said yesterday it signed a contact to
invest in a US$20 million joint-venture producing monosodium
glutamate (MSG) in Indonesia.

Ve Wong will take a 49 percent stake in the venture, which is
planned to have a monthly production of 1,500 tonnes, with
Indonesia's PT Budi Acid Jaya taking the remaining stake, a
company spokesman said.

Facing increasing demands from environmentalists at home, the
cost of manufacturing MSG has increased sharply and has slashed
Taiwanese MSG manufacturers' competitiveness in the international
markets, he said.

"(Investing in Indonesia) is to solve these problems and
create more profits for the company," he added.

Production from the Indonesian project, Ve Wong's third
investment in Asia after Thailand and Vietnam, is expected to
begin in 12 to 18 months.

Most of the production will be imported back to Taiwan and
some will supply the Indonesian markets.

"As demand has been increasing recently, we also plan to
expand the monthly production in Vietnam to 650 tonnes," he said.