Tata Tea announces joint venture with China''s Zhejiang Tea
08 May 2007
Mumbai:
Tata Tea Ltd has formed a joint venture with China''s Zhejiang Tea Import and Export
Company to manufacture and market tea and allied value-added products in China.
Tata Tea would own 70 per cent of the joint venture, the cost of which is estimated at Rs70 crore ($17 million). The project would be funded through a mix of equity and debt, Tata Tea said.
The pact was signed at an event at Anji County in Zhejiang and the project will come up at the economic development zone there, the statement said.
Anji County is also known as the City of Angel, China town of bamboo and China town of white tea.
The joint venture will manufacture and market green tea extracts, cold and hot water soluble instant tea, liquid tea concentrates and other beverages, the statement said.
"This project is of great strategic importance for the Tata group in reaching out to the Chinese and Far East markets. " said Percy T Siganporia, managing director at Tata Tea.
The 125-year-old Tata group has been the most aggressive among Indian companies in looking to expand overseas, after thriving for decades in a protected Indian market.
Tata Tea has made several overseas acquisitions in recent years, including Britain''s Tetley, Eight O Clock Coffee in the United States and Czech tea company Jemca. Last year, it paid $677 million to buy a strategic 30 per cent stake in New York-based Energy Brands Inc. that makes the Glaceau brand of flavored water.
The latest
project in China is part of Tata Tea''s plan to become the No. 1 beverage company
in the world, the statement said.