Japanese snacks giant Calbee has teamed up with local conglomerate Itochu Corp. and Hong Kong-listed food group Tingyi to form a snacks venture in China.
The US$20m venture, which will be formally established in July, will sell a range of snack foods in China, although details of the products have yet to be disclosed.
Calbee will take a 51% stake in the unnamed venture. Tingyi, the leading producer of instant noodles in China, will own 45%. Itochu will hold 4% of the shares.
In an announcement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday (9 April), Tingyi said it wanted to “leverage” Calbee’s “technology and know-how” and Itochu’s “trading experience” to produce a wider range of snack foods in China.
Itochu has interests in the agricultural sector and would supply potatoes and raw materials to the venture, Tingyi added.
