Malaysia's Fraser & Neave expects China glass plant to start in October

The plant, comprising a 270 tonne furnace and 3 machine lines, will be managed as a subsidiary of the group.The group announced the joint venture, located in China's Sichuan province, in August 2001.F&N also said in its latest annual report for the year ended 30 September 2001 that Kuala Lumpur Glass Manufacturers Co Sdn Bhd (KL Glass), which was acquired in May 2000, has been successfully integrated into the mainstream glass operations and is contributing to group profit.The report said F&N group results for the year have been a record on two fronts.Turnover for the group exceeded RM1.5 billion (US$394.74 million) for the first time and similarly Group profit before tax at RM103.6 million exceeded RM100 million, also for the first time."Despite the uncertainties generated by the decline in major international economies, the economic climate in Malaysia during the past year has been favourable to our operations," the report said.

"This, together with prudent right sizing and other initiatives taken in the previous two years to improve productivity and efficiencies have largely contributed to the improved margins across all Group operations."

F&N said the soft drinks operation benefited from the full year effect of restored margins.

At the same time, volume grew moderately.

However, the contribution from the dairies operation was adversely affected by the high cost of raw materials while its major products were under price control.