Coca-Cola Continues Strong Investment In China Three New Plants In Hohhot, Luohe And Sanshui Underscore China Commitment

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Muhtar Kent, announced in Inner Mongolia the opening and near completion of three new bottling plants in China worth a combined 1.6 billion RMB (USD 240 million), continuing its rapid expansion in one of the world’s largest and fastest growing beverage markets.

The new investments are a part of Coca-Cola’s 3-year USD 2 billion accelerated investment in China and the latest phase of Coca-Cola's long-term commitment to its business in China. The investment is also aligned with the government's call to develop the central and western areas of the country. The plants in Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, Luohe in Henan Province and Sanshui in Guangdong Province will locally produce beverages such as Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, and Minute Maid to quench the thirst of consumers in those regions.

The bottling plant in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, which is still opened, is the 41st Coca-Cola a bottling plant in China. The Plant in Luohe will be the largest Coca-Cola production facility in China and will begin production in November 2010. The plant has been constructed to the Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) standard, showcasing many energy and water conservation features. The Sanshui plant is also scheduled to commence production by the end of 2010. These new facilities will augment Coca-Cola's strategic footprint in China, with the Luohe investment alone worth 900 million RMB. The three plants together will directly create 2,000 additional new jobs in the local communities and approximately 20,000 additional indirect employment opportunities in the supporting industries. By the end of the year this marks 6 plants inaugurated over the last 2 years.

In addition to the new world-class bottling facilities in China, Coca-Cola is also a global partner of the World EXPO in Shanghai. The Company has already served more than 70 million servings to EXPO visitors and working staff, and has greeted more than one million visitors to the "Coca-Cola Happiness Factory" pavilion in the EXPO Park.