Almarai and PepsiCo to invest $345m in Egypt

Saudi Arabia-based dairy producer Almarai and US soft drinks major PepsiCo have unveiled plans to invest about $345m in Egypt over the next five years, to strengthen their presence in the country.

Almarai will invest in the country through dairy and juice products firm International Company for Agro-Industrial Projects (Beyti).

Beyti is a subsidiary of International Dairy & Juice, in which Almarai and PepsiCo hold a 52% and 48% stake respectively.

The latest investment by Almarai and PepsiCo will be used to build a new juice factory, expand existing facilities and increase Beyti’s fleet of vehicles and sales network.

It will also be used to create a new dairy farm that will house about 5,000 cows, reports Reuters.

Most of the investment will come from equity injections by the joint venture partners in accordance with their ownership percentage, while Beyti would take on some debt.

Almarai noted that it will finance its investment through cash flow, which will be reflected on its group balance sheet between the third quarter of this year and 2019.

Almarai’s CEO Abdulrahman Al Fadley was quoted by the publication as saying that he plans to raise the investment amount to around $560m over five years.

The additional money will be utilised on another dairy farm, which is claimed to be the biggest in the country, accommodating 20,000 cows, noted Fadley.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola plans to build a $100m juice facility near Cairo, in a joint venture project with Saudi Arabia’s Aujan Coca-Cola Beverages Co, as part of its $500m investment plan announced in March.