Global beverage giant PepsiCo announced on Tuesday that it will be selling a 51 per cent stake in its beverage business in Vietnam to Suntory Holdings. PepsiCo will hold the remaining 49 per cent stake in the business.

PepsiCo and Suntory Holdings, a Japanese beverage and wellness company, will hold key roles in the management team of the new venture, which will serve as the bottler for both companies in Vietnam.

According to a joint statement, the alliance is expected to create new growth opportunities for PepsiCo and Suntory in the market.

PepsiCo will retain marketing and innovation responsibilities for its portfolio of iconic beverage brands in Vietnam. These include Pepsi-Cola, 7-UP, Sting, Mirinda, Tropicana Twitser, Lipton and Aquafina.

President of PepsiCo Asia Pacific, Umran Beba, said in the statement: "We're focused on expanding our food and beverage business in Vietnam through continued investment across our portfolio, and our beverage alliance with Suntory is an important part of our strategy to position PepsiCo for sustainable long-term growth in the market."

Both companies have an established record of successfully working together as partners for more than 30 years in other beverage markets such as the United States, Japan and New Zealand.

Henry Park, CEO of Suntory Beverage & Food Asia added that the alliance is one of Suntory's "strategic initiatives to pursue further growth in the (Southeast Asian) region."

Suntory said the expansion into Vietnam is part of its long-range plans following the establishment of Singapore-based Suntory Beverage & Food Asia Pte. Ltd. to accelerate the expansion of its beverage business in Southeast Asia.

The deal is subject to the completion of legal processes.

channelnewsasia.com