Mitsui : to invest in KH Roberts Group Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based flavour company

On November 9, 2018, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ('Mitsui', Head Office: Tokyo; President and CEO: Tatsuo Yasunaga) completed an investment in KH Roberts Group Pte. Ltd. ('KHR'), a flavour company active in Southeast Asia.

Headquartered in Singapore, KHR is a premier creator of food flavours and specialty ingredients in Asia. It has manufacturing facilities in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and direct sales distribution offices in Malaysia, China and various other markets across Asia. KHR manufactures and sells flavours for beverages, confectionary, and other food manufacturing applications, leveraging its advanced manufacturing technologies, including unique flavour encapsulation methods and proprietary automated liquid distribution and dispensing systems. In 2018, KHR celebrated its 50th anniversary with the official opening of a state-of-the-art integrated flavour manufacturing facility. KHR's approach of joint collaborations with key partners and its highly effective business execution capabilities have enabled the company to achieve continuous growth throughout the years, resulting in a culture and approach that is a good fit for Mitsui.

Nutrition & Agriculture, or in other words, 'food and agriculture,' is one of the new growth areas established in Mitsui's Medium-Term Management Plan. We have positioned Southeast Asia as an important market due to its large population and high growth rate of processed foods and we are strengthening our efforts to realize high added-value foods in the region through the application of flavours and flavouring technologies. As a prominent country in the ASEAN region, Singapore is an excellent location both geographically and competitively for establishing a manufacturing base and developing this business.
Through this investment in KHR, and following last year's acquisition through tender offer of Soda Aromatic Co., Ltd, Mitsui aims to expand its business and further strengthen its business base in the Southeast Asian flavour industry in partnership with Mitsui Group companies.