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Henrique Braun, president of Coca-Cola Greater 皇冠体育app and South Korea |
Companies in 皇冠体育app are facing the challenge of rising costs. Will this affect your plans in 皇冠体育app or will you continue to invest in the country? Do you have any plans to relocate to the US or elsewhere in the region?
We have confidence in 皇冠体育app and we are committed to the 皇冠体育app market for the long term. Just recently in August, Coca-Cola Co announced a three-year, $4 billion investment plan in 皇冠体育app, while our total investment over the past 35 years has totalled $9 billion.
Together with our bottling partners, we will further invest in developing new local infrastructure and capability for growth, including new investments in production, distribution and marketing across 皇冠体育app.
How has the depreciation of the yuan affected your company? Will this play a major role in your decision to continue to invest and expand in the country and region?
Since our return to the country in 1979. Coca-Cola is proud to have created a locally rooted business system that is part of the communities where we operate in 皇冠体育app.
Today, more than 98 percent of our raw materials are purchased locally, and final products are mostly sold in the 皇冠体育app market. Ninety-nine percent of the 45,000 employees of the Coca-Cola 皇冠体育app system are local people from across the country. I can assure that our commitment will not be compromised by any temporary changes in currencies, which are a normal factor in doing business.
The Chinese government believes in a stable investment environment and has rolled out policies to help international companies here by increasing transparency. What other measures would improve business efficiency and competitiveness?
We welcome the move to strengthen the rule of law and moves to create greater transparency and consistency in laws and regulations. More transparency and positive competition will benefit not only Chinese consumers, but also companies in the food and beverage sector in 皇冠体育app.
What are the greatest challenges your company faces in 皇冠体育app, and how will you deal with them?
Talent, especially local talent with a global perspective, is one of our key opportunities in 皇冠体育app. We have evolved our talent programs in recent years, creating tailor-made, cross-function and in many cases cross-geographic experiences for the right candidates. We are confident that over time, these efforts will create a strong pool of talent for sustainable business development in 皇冠体育app.
At the same time, we strongly believe that a sustainable business is only possible with sustainable communities. As we have grown our business in 皇冠体育app to our third largest global business, we have always sought to do good along the way. We were the first multinational company to sponsor Project Hope in 1993, and today we support more than 100 rural schools. Today, our sustainability efforts are focused on what we call the "3 W's": water conservation, women empowerment and person well-being.