Unilever's Asia growth

Unilever's Asia growth

THE HAGUE (AFP): The rate of growth experienced by food and
consumer group Unilever in Asia has been halved, company chairman
Morris Tabaksblat said in an interview published Saturday.

The Anglo-Dutch giant registered growth in Southeast Asia of
around eight to 12 percent. "That has been halved," Tabaksblat
told the Trouw newspaper.

"If Southeast Asia falls back as an important growth stimulus,
then that has a negative effect on our company," he warned.
Unilever is due to publish its third-quarter results on Friday.

When first-half results were published in August, Tabaksblat
said a slowdown in consumption in Asia, which Unilever felt
particularly in Thailand and Indonesia, had hit business and
warned the turmoil would be a factor in the second half of 1998.

He said Unilever, which has interests in food, detergent and
beauty products, tried to combat financial crises by offering
products in all price ranges.