Nestle picks Malaysia as one of global procurement hubs
Centre will source ingredients, materials and services globally to supply the needs of more than 100 countries
NESTLE S.A, the world’s biggest food company, picks Malaysia as one of its three global procurement hubs called Nestrade. Malaysia is an investor-friendly country with good infrastructure, backed by a pool of talent, making it attractive for international investors, said Nestle executive vice-president and head of operations Dr Magdi Batato.
“We look at infrastructure, investor-friendliness, in terms of rules and regulations to conduct business,” he said after launching the hub, here, yesterday.
“We have been in Malaysia for more than 100 years. We look forward to staying on for many more years. We believe by having this hub, we will be more efficient in business procurement,” he said.
Batato said the 23,000 sq ft hub will source ingredients, materials and services globally to supply the needs of more than 100 countries.
“The procurement hub is a global purchasing structure which is independent from Nestle Malaysia Bhd.
“We have 418 factories globally that buy raw materials. Malaysia is an important country with valuable materials that we have been using for the last 100 years and will continue to do so,” he said.
Nestle Malaysia Bhd chief executive officer Alois Hofbauer said the company’s average export growth increases five per cent year-on-year, registering more than RM1 billion revenue from 50 countries globally.
“We are a global centre for halal products. Asean, Europe, the Middle East and South America are among our export regions,” he said.
Hofbauer said Nestle’s eight factories in Malaysia contribute 25 per cent to the export market, while the remaining 75 per cent is for local consumption.
Second International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan raised its optimism that Malaysia would be able to “value-add” the final products for trading in the domestic and international markets.
“We hope Malaysian products will be of high-quality, with the participation from Nestle, making Malaysia a high-quality exporter, particularly in the food segment.
“We will also facilitate the elimination of tariff barriers so that Malaysian products can be sold through the e-commerce platform, via the Digital Free Trade Zone ,” he said, adding that it is a new direction to build trading ecosystem in Malaysia.