Philippines: Nestle invests $42.5 million in new plant

Multinational food and beverage firm Nestle has announced a 2 billion PHP ($42.5 million) investment to build a new plant south of Manila in the Philippines, according to a report in Business World Online.

The 5,400 sq m plant will be the fourth Nestle plant in the world after Australia, Nigeria and Singapore to manufacture protomalt, “a proprietary set of carbohydrates extracted from cassava and barley”, and will be built at the company’s existing facility in Batangas. Protomalt is said to be a key carbohydrate ingredient in the firm’s Milo brand chocolate and malt drink.

In the past five years, it is estimated that Nestle Philippines has invested nearly 14 billion PHP ($297 million) to expand production of various brands. “Milo is a significant contributor to Nestle Philippines revenue…the new plant will cater to the domestic market, but could be expanded for exports of protomalt”, said Jacques Reber, chairman and CEO of Nestle Philippines.

Earlier in the year, Nestle also announced an investment in its Milo brand in Vietnam with the construction of a $70 million factory located at the Thang Long II Industrial Park.

Source: Business World Online