P

ublicly listed PT Indofood CBP (ICBP) and Japan-based Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. have set a long-term target to achieve multi trillion rupiah in sales from its Indonesian non-alcoholic beverage business.

ICBP, part of conglomerate Indofood group, and Asahi group announced in a joint press conference in Tokyo on Monday that they aimed to achieve Rp 5 trillion (US$429 million) in sales by 2017 from the business, on the back of the country'€™s promising non-alcoholic beverage industry growth.

The statement said that the groups were currently building a new plant, which is expected to kick off operations in the second half of this year. The plant will be the newest addition to the groups'€™ existing 17 plants operating in the country.

The groups'€™ non-alcoholic beverage enterprise started back in 2012 when they set up joint ventures to produce and market their products in Southeast Asia'€™s largest economy.

The two firms are manufacturing company PT Asahi Indofood Beverage Makmur (AIBM) and marketing and distribution firm PT Indofood Asahi Sukses Beverage (IASB). ICBP controls 49 percent and 51 percent stakes in the companies, respectively.

The move continued in September when IASB and AIBM acquired PT Pepsi-Cola Indobeverages for S$30 million (US$23.7 million) using cash reserves.

Following the acquisition, ICBP said, the acquired company had changed its name to PT Prima Cahaya Indobeverages.

The groups also inked an agreement in October with PT Multi Bahagia to set up two joint ventures to produce and distribute packaged drinking water, PT Tirta Sukses Perkasa (TSP) and PT Tirta Makmur Perkasa (TMP).

TSP is 80 percent owned by AIMB and 20 percent by Multi Bahagia while TMP is 80 percent owned by IASB and 20 percent by Multi Bahagia.

TSP and TMP acquired the Club brand drinking water for Rp 2.2 trillion to expand into the market of packaged drinking water products (AMDK).

TMP and TSP had signed a conditional sale and purchase of assets agreement with 22 firms under the Tirta Bahagia Group, which had owned Club, back in November.

The Surabaya-based Tirta Bahagia Group claimed to hold the second-biggest share within the domestic AMDK market.

The groups'€™ latest venture in the non-alcoholic drink business was in December when AIBM launched a ready-to-drink (RTD) green tea. AIBM, the statement said, would also launch this year an RTD coffee product and functional drinks.

Non-alcoholic beverages is one of the fastest growing categories in the Indonesian market. According to market research firm Canadean, the sector is worth more than $8 billion and has seen double-digit growth in the past few years.

Asahi Group is one of the world'€™s leading food and beverage makers with businesses covering a wide array of products, including non-alcoholic beverages such as soft drinks and packaged food such as health foods, functional foods, baby food and freeze-dried products. It consists of more than 150 companies operating worldwide with products sold in over than 80 countries.

ICBP'€™s latest financial report revealed that its total assets had amounted to Rp 20.07 trillion as of September 2013. Its liabilities reached Rp 7.18 trillion and its equities stood at Rp 12.89 trillion.

ICBP had also signed an agreement with Japan'€™s JC Comsa Corporation to form a joint venture in September.

Following the acquisition, ICBP has a 51 percent stake within the joint venture, while JC Comsa owns the remaining 49 percent. The new company will oversee the production and distribution of flour-based food products, food services and restaurant management.

JC Comsa is a food and restaurant firm that is listed on the JASDAQ Securities Exchange. Its food products range from pizza dough to bread, while its restaurant chains include Ichiban Dori and Shanghai Express.