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.