Thai food company invests in Belgium

Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods said on Wednesday it would invest a total of 265 million baht (€6.86 m) to create three new subsidiaries in China and Belgium in the first quarter of 2002.

Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods said on Wednesday it would invest a total of 265 million baht (€6.86 m) to create three new subsidiaries in China and Belgium in the first quarter of 2002.

In a statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the firm said it would invest 135 million baht to set up C.P. Aquaculture (Beihai) Co at Beihai Industrial Zone, Guangxi, China to serve as a production and distribution centre for aquatic feed.

CPF said its wholly owned unit CPF Investment was setting up a subsidiary called C.P. Food Products (Shanghai) to operate Thai food restaurants in China.

It said another wholly owned unit, C.P. Merchandising, would invest about 40 million bath (€1.03m) to establish CPF Belgium S.A., a distribution centre for its products in the European region.

CPF is a unit of Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand's largest agribusiness conglomerate. By midday on Wednesday, CPF shares were unchanged at 5.90 baht (€0.15), while the overall Thai stock market was up 1.14 per cent.