Global food giant Nestlé is set to invest $100 million over the next three years in its Colombian operations, President Gustavo Petro said on Friday, part of his push to boost industrialisation.
The Colombian leader outlined the announcement in a post on Twitter late on Friday.
New Investment Plans
The new investment plan builds on $13 million already spent by the world's largest food and beverage producer in the South American country, the government said in a statement, with the new funds to be focused on increasing production capacity and updating technology.
"Industrialising Colombia is essential if we want to get out of poverty," Petro wrote on Twitter.
Nestlé did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But the statement quoted its top executive for Latin America, Laurent Freixe, as saying that the plan will allow the company to strengthen its product portfolio as well as align with some of the government's priorities, such as promoting youth employment.
Price Hikes
Nestlé posted its strongest nine-month sales growth in 14 years on the 19 October and raised its full-year guidance as the world's largest packaged food company passed on price increases without losing many cash strapped customers.
The KitKat chocolate bar maker reported organic sales, which cut out the impact of currency movements and acquisitions, rising by 8.5% in the nine months to end-September.
It was the highest nine-month rise since 2008 and was driven by higher prices aimed at offsetting rising costs.
Read More: Nestlé Raises FY Outlook As KitKat Maker Pushes Through Price Hikes
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