Indonesia's biggest instant noodle maker, Indofood Sukses Makmur, said in a stock exchange filing Wednesday that it will sell its stake in a joint venture with Japan's Nissin Foods.
 
Indofood said it will sell its entire 49% stake in the Nissinmas joint venture, which makes and sells instant noodles in Indonesia, to Nissin for $5.43 million. The deal will leave Nissin with a 98% stake in Nissinmas. The divestiture will take place once the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board approves.
 
In a separate filing, Nissin said the deal will enable fast decision-making and the investment needed to strengthen the company's business in Indonesia. Nissin, a pioneer in instant noodles, is looking bolster its overseas operations after losing ground to Taiwanese rivals in recent years. Indonesia's instant noodle market is dominated by Indofood.
 
For Indofood, the divestment will have little impact. In 2013, Nissinmas' sales stood at 17.23 billion rupiah, contributing a mere 0.03% to Indofood's total sales. In addition to its instant noodle unit, the company owns subsidiaries that make flour, palm oil and sugar. Indofood has recently been expanding into new lines of business, buying Chinese vegetable processor China Minzhong Food in 2013, for example.
 
Indofood is owned by Salim Group, one of the biggest family-run conglomerates in Southeast Asia.

(source : asia.nikkei.com)