Indonesia’s giant instant-noodle maker Indofood Sukses Makmur expects sales to grow by 10 to 15% this year from Rupiah 16.5trn (US$2bn) last year.

With 11 brands of instant noodles, the company has an 88% share of the Indonesian instant noodle market. The move to expand further was announced by the company president Eva Riyanti Hutapea on Thursday following a shareholders meeting. It is part of a drive to increase the number of small-scale food outlets in rural areas. These are based in small towns and villages and mostly stock Indofood products.

The company reported an 8% increase in 2002 net profit to Rupiah 802.6bn, up from Rupiah 746.3bn in 2001.