Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Unveils $1 Billion Expansion Plan in the Philippines
Coca-Cola, the renowned US beverage conglomerate, is set to inject a whopping $1 billion into its business operations in the Philippines, as announced by the President’s Office.
The proclamation follows a pivotal meeting between top executives from Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) with Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
According to insights from GlobalData’s Just Drinks, plans for the substantial investment took root in December 2023 when AEV and CCEP-incorporated CCEP Aboitiz Beverages Philippines unveiled intentions to acquire all shares in Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines. Under the fresh agreement, AEV will wield a 40% stake in the newly formed joint venture, with CCEP retaining the remaining 60%.
“We are very enthusiastic, and we see that we need to invest in the Philippines, to grow the business, and in the next five years, we are planning a $1 billion investment,” remarked Sol Daurella Comadrán, Chairperson of CCEP.
Comadrán emphasized Coca-Cola’s significant presence in the Philippines, boasting 9,000 direct employees, with an additional 100,000 individuals engaged across the company’s expansive distribution and supply chains.
President Marcos extended a warm welcome to the investment initiative, expressing confidence in the joint venture’s potential for success, citing the burgeoning markets in the Philippines.
In tandem with the acquisition of Coca-Cola Beverages Philippines, CCEP disclosed plans for rapid business expansion across 31 countries. The company’s workforce surged from 23,000 in 2021 to 42,000 in 2023, reflecting its ambitious growth trajectory.
Coca-Cola’s subsidiaries’ recent endeavors in the Asia-Pacific region echo a broader trend of expansion. In December 2023, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) inked a memorandum of understanding with the Government of the Indian state of Gujarat, committing to a substantial investment of Rs3,000 crore ($360 million) in a new facility slated for Rajkot, set to commence operations in 2026.
Data from GlobalData’s FDI Projects Database underscores Coca-Cola’s steadfast commitment to investment, with the company emerging as the most active greenfield investor between the first quarter of 2019 and Q3 2023. A staggering 90.9% of Coca-Cola’s investments were channeled into the soft drinks subsector, underscoring its strategic focus on beverage production and distribution expansion initiatives.
