Indonesia – (ACN Newswire) – China Mengniu Dairy Company Limited (HKEX Stock Code: 2319), a leading dairy product manufacturer in China, kicked off operation today of its new “Mengniu YoyiC Dairy Factory” in Cikarang, West Java, Indonesia. Mr Jeffrey, Minfang Lu, Chief Executive Officer of Mengniu, together with officiating guests including Mr Thomas Trikarsa Lembong, Head of the Capital Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia, Mr Wang Liping, Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Indonesia, and Mr Kiki Barki, Chairman of Indonesian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, unveiled the new factory and the set-for-launch YoyiC series.
The new Mengniu YoyiC Dairy Factory is the Group’s second overseas factory, the first being the Yashili plant in New Zealand. It is also the first dairy product manufacturing base a Chinese enterprise has placed in Southeast Asia. To Mengniu, the first Chinese dairy products enterprise to “Go global”, Southeast Asia has been its most important overseas market and its products are now sold in close to 10 countries and regions in Southeast Asia. Mr. Jeffrey, Minfang Lu said that Indonesia, as the most active economy and having the biggest population in Southeast Asia, has a large consumer market and strong regional economic influence and is also one of the first supporters of the “Belt and Road” initiative, thus having a factory in Indonesia will boost Mengniu’s competitiveness in the Southeast Asia market, conducive to the speedy execution of the Group’s internationalization strategy.
The new factory is on a 15,000 m2 site and commanded a total investment of more than US$50 million. It has a designed daily output capacity of 260 tonnes and annual output capacity valued at US$160 million. With the strong support of different departments of the Indonesian government and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Indonesia, Mengniu had the factory plan confirmed in November 2017 and construction began in March 2018, meaning it has taken only a year from getting the plan off the ground to start of operation of the factory, which is a record among Chinese enterprises setting up factories in Indonesia and a demonstration of the “Mengniu Speed”. The factory is expected to provide about 1,000 jobs for Indonesians in the coming five years and about 100 locals have been hired to date.
The YoyiC probiotics beverage and yogurt products the factory puts out are made with milk from quality milk source in Oceania and Indonesia, applying Mengniu’s world leading production technology and quality control system. New probiotics developed by Mengniu and esteemed Danish R&D institutes are added in the products targeting mid-market to high-end consumers. YoyiC series products will be available in more than 12,000 stores in main cities in Indonesia in December. The same type of products has been sold in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and other countries and regions in Southeast Asia, and are well received by consumers, earning for two consecutive years 7-Eleven Singapore’s “Most Popular Brand” title.
Mr. Lu pointed out that internationalization is the core strategy of Mengniu, and the Group’s overseas business has maintained rapid growth at about 30% in recent years. Moreover, in 2018, gaining presence at such top international events as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Business Forum, the first China International Import Expo and Russia World Cup, etc., Mengniu has not only let hundreds of millions of consumers around the world know its name, but has also become more determined to speed up internationalization leveraging the “Belt and Road” initiative. On the solid foundation it has in the Southeast Asia market, Mengniu will gradually extend its market reach to Africa, Latin America, Europe and the U.S., aiming to provide world-class products and services to more consumers worldwide and for itself to become a Chinese dairy enterprise competitive in the international market and nurture a national dairy brand deserving of global fame.