YHS eyes Indonesia, Thailand markets
Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Bhd (YHS) wants to aggressively expand into lucrative regional markets by taking advantage of the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement, its managing director Ow Tin Nyap said.
Speaking to reporters after the food and beverage manufacturer's EGM on Feb 16, Ow said it saw an opportunity for growth in Thailand and Indonesia due to their huge population.
He added that YHS was offering “Asian beverages”, which contain less sugar and were healthier by comparison to carbonated drinks.
Apart from setting up sales offices, YHS however would not be building new plants in these countries. Instead it will leverage on the 5% tariff cap under AFTA.
“With the increasing presence of AFTA, it is better to capitalise on our manufacturing here,” Ow said.
According to him, YHS has five plants in Malaysia which only utilise 60% to 65% of its capacity on average. As such, its expansion drive to the two Asean countries will require minimal capital investment.
“There’s no need to expand at the moment because of excess capacity. We have sufficient capacity to drive further volume,” he said.
YHS has two plants located in Kuala Lumpur and one plant in Johor, Ipoh and Kuching respectively.