APAC Issue 11 2018

APAC / Issue 11 2018 25 , In Jakarta, Indonesia, China’s largest dairy enterprise, Yili Group, held a product launch event on October 23 and announced in high profile its entrance into the local market. Just like masses of other Chinese enterprises that aim at global markets, Yili Group fully anticipated to enter into Indonesia, not only because of its huge market potential, but also because of the critical position Indonesia plays in leading to the enormous South Pacific and Indian Ocean. The Chinese food industry, represented by Yili Group, appears to have started opening up a big maritime navigation era for expansion into overseas markets. The period between the 1400s to 1500s is called the “Big Maritime Navigation Era”, also known as the Great Geographical Discovery Period. The isolated continents and unknown countries were, in that era, being linked up by new routes and new trade channels were formed. Moreover, economic and political relationships were established. Recently, Asia’s most famous dairy enterprise from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, has taken the lead in Chinese Dairy Giant Yili Group Launches in Indonesia entering the overseas market. According to some experts, the influence of this specific move of Yili Group is no less than another “Big Maritime Navigation Era”, and through this effort Chinese food enterprises will further enter the international market. In the past, the renowned voyager Zheng He led fleets to the western locations seven times. Coincidentally, the first island that he set foot on was the one that was Java, which now it belongs to Indonesia. In the Chinese dairy industry, Yili Group is the earliest public listed company. By 2017, its market capitalization had almost approached 30 billion US dollars, and its share has become an index among A-shares. Yili Group can be definitely viewed as a giant. At present, Yili Group maintains the undisputable position of No. 1 in Asia and is also one of the Top 10 Dairy Companies in the world. This Group has registered a wholly owned subsidiary in Indonesia, Green Asian Food Indonesia Co., Ltd, which has already launched 11 ice cream products in the local market. At the launch event on October 23, Mr. Zhang Jianqiu, CEO of Yili Group, expressed his anticipation of this market. He said, by the end of this year, Yili products will cover more than 20 cities in Indonesia, and then will gradually expand to other Southeast Asian countries. “This launch event is not merely a grand ceremony between China and Indonesia, but also a link for both to expand communication and exchange experience.” Yili Group is located in China’s famous prairie city, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and the city’s mayor, Feng Yuzhen, was present resent at the launch event. Feng expressed: “I hope Yili Group will use its highest- standard products and services to bring more nutrition and health to customers in Indonesia and the whole world.” In the past years, the world has witnessed the rapid development of Chinese enterprises; the prominent ones are mostly involved in technological areas and construction machinery fields that are majorly based on infrastructure, but it is rare to see enterprises from the food and FMCG industry. For one thing, only a few enterprises are qualified to compete in overseas markets; for another, Opens Up “BigMaritime Navigation Era” for China’s Food Industry food industry, in comparison with other industries, relies more on brand influence. Brand Finance (a famous Britain evaluation institution) released a list of 2017 Dairy Industry Brand Value. Yili Group ranked the top. As a Chinese maritime pioneer of food industry, what Yili Group is doing is exactly what the world famous telecommunication company Huawei was doing in science and technology industry years ago. In fact, as a food enterprise, in the past years of efforts in globalization, Yili Group is inclined to practical resource layout that it calls as “Full-chain globalization”. As of now, Yili Group has established some branches in America, Europe and Oceania. The common aim of these establishments is to improve local material supply conditions and produce intelligence resources. Among these branches, the most influential move is to have established the Oceania Dairy Co., Ltd in New Zealand. From aspects of scale of business revenue and influence, the Chinese dairy industry has risen up and ranked in the first tier of the world. Yili Group has opened up its own big maritime navigation era.