PepsiCo to invest Rs 1,000 cr by end of '09

Global soft drink player PepsiCo today said that it will invest over Rs 1,000 crore ($220 million) in the current calendar year to increase the capacity of its beverages business across the country.

Of the proposed $220-million investment, PepsiCo India will put in $170 million of own money, while the remaining $50 million would be invested by its bottling partners.

"This is by far the largest investment made by the company in its beverages business in a single year since its entry into India," PepsiCo India chairman and CEO Sanjeev Chadha told reporters.

"PepsiCo's beverage business is steadily growing over the last nine quarters and is (expanding) at the rate of 30 per cent in the current year," he added.

This new investment will be spread across manufacturing capacity, market infrastructure, supply chain and R&D, Chadha said.

This proposed investment is part of the company's $500-million investment plan announced during the visit of PepsiCo' global head Indra Nooyi to India last year.

The amount was to be invested over a three-year period with the purpose of doubling the company's Indian business.

As per the earlier plan, PepsiCo was to make the investment of around $110 million on its beverages business but with a view to give a push to this segment, it has now decided to double the amount of money which it will pump in the current year.

"Seeing the potential of the Indian market, we have decided to double the investment," Chadha said.