Major Japanese mayonnaise maker Kewpie Corp. will establish a sales arm in Singapore next month in a fresh bid to beef up its operations in Southeast Asia.

Kewpie announced Wednesday that it has acquired an 80 percent stake in food importer Minato Singapore Pte. Ltd. from Kewpie's largest stockholder Nakashimato Co. of Tokyo through a third-party share allotment to turn Minato into a subsidiary on Oct. 1.

Kewpie said the subsidiary, Kewpie Singapore Pte. Ltd., will import mayonnaise, dressing and other products mainly from Japan, Malaysia and Thailand.

Kewpie advanced into Thailand as early as in 1987. It now has subsidiaries in Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as in Malaysia and Thailand. (NNA/Kyodo)

==Kyodo

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