Coca-Cola bottlers agree on north ASEAN partnership

The Coca-Cola Company, Swire Coca-Cola Limited, and ThaiNamthip Corporation Limited have agreed to establish a strategic bottling alliance in northern ASEAN - Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

In a Friday release, Swire Coca-Cola, the bottler of Coca-Cola in Vietnam, Cambodia, various areas in China and some states in the U.S., said the Coca-Cola Company would divest its minority stake in ThaiNamthip, bottler in Thailand, to both ThaiNamthip and Swire Coca-Cola.

The alliance, subject to regulatory approvals, will see Swire Coca-Cola take a controlling stake in ThaiNamthip's bottling operations in Thailand and Laos, while ThaiNamthip will take a minority stake in Swire Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Vietnam and Cambodia.

The three sides will align their management, governance and growth objectives across the ThaiNamthip and Swire Coca-Cola franchise territories with the aim of becoming the undisputed leader in the beverages market in the region..

"We are thrilled to further expand our presence in Southeast Asia to Thailand and Laos,” said Karen So, managing director of Swire Coca-Cola Limited.

Hong Kong-based Swire Coca-Cola completed the acquisition of the entire Coca-Cola bottling business in Vietnam in January 2023 and then posted a revenue of HKD1,856 million ($237.4 million) from its Vietnam operations in the first half of 2023.

In the first half of 2023, Swire Coca-Cola's earning before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in Vietnam reached HKD263 million ($33.65 million).

However, its Cambodia business, which was acquired in the same deal as the Vietnam operation, recorded losses as a result of “challenging conditions.”

Mainland China and the U.S. were the two biggest markets of the companies, with revenues of HKD13,202 million ($1.69 billion) and HKD12,686 million ($1.62 billion), respectively.