Coca Cola Cambodia Expands its Production Capacity

On August 20^th 2015, Cambodia Beverage Company (Coca-Cola Cambodia) kick starts construction of its new production plant located in the Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone at the groundbreaking ceremony under the auspicious presence of H.E. Kitti Seddha Pundit KEAT CHHON, Deputy Prime Minister (Standing), and First Vice Chairman of the Council for the Development of Cambodia with participation from senior Government officials and Ms. Julie Chung, Charged ’Affaires of the embassy of United State of America. The new factory sitting on 12 hectares of land is a part of the Company’s US$100 million investment in Cambodia from 2015 to 2018 which is expected to increase total workforce to more than one thousand people.

Mr. Irial Finan, Executive Vice President of the Coca-Cola Company and President of the Company’s Bottling Investments Group mentioned during the groundbreaking ceremony that “the decision to invest US$100 million into this plant and the country was guided by the positive demographics in the country but, more importantly, the abundance of strong local talent and the positive business climate made it an easy decision to build the plant here”.

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony, Ms. Julie Chung expressed her excitement in seeing investment from a global brand with 129 years of history in Cambodia, adding that the investment sends a clear signal to other global corporations that Cambodia is open for business and ready for additional investment.

H.E. Kitti Seddha Pundit KEAT CHHON congratulated Coca Cola for the decision to choose Phnom Penh SEZ as their new home. H.E. Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that “while the groundbreaking ceremony marks an important milestone in the long-term commitment of Coca Cola in its contribution to the Cambodian economy, for the Royal Government of Cambodia, Coca Cola’s greenfield project of one hundred million US Dollars is a show of confidence in the Cambodian market and its investment environment. For our part, the Royal Government of Cambodia is in the process to amend the Investment Law by the end of the year in order to address existing constraints and to attract more FDI from firms of the stature of Coca Cola. The Royal Government has pledged to support in a comprehensive way the development of SEZ to meet international standards through the Cambodia Industrial Development Policy 2015-2025 which will be launched on August 26^th 2015 under the presidency of Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HUN SEN”.

Deputy Prime Minister (Standing) KEAT CHHON and Mr. Irial Finan perform a Buddhism ritual at the groundbreaking ceremony of Coca Cola factory while H.E. Sok Chenda Sophea and Ms. Julie Chung look on.

Mr. Irial Finan explains about the factory mock up to Deputy Prime Minister (Standing) KEAT CHHON and participants.

H.E. Sok Chenda Sophea, Minister attached to the Prime Minister and Secretary General of CDC, shares a moment with Mr. Irial Finan and staff of Coca Cola.