Nestlé clarifies it will not close PHL facilities

Multinational food giant Nestlé said Friday it will not close any of its factories in the Philippines amid reports that it intends to move its coffee processing facility to another country in Southeast Asia.

"Nestlé Philippines is not planning to close any of its manufacturing facilities in the Philippines," the company said in a statement.

This came after Japanese news agency Nikkei quoted a top Nestlé official as saying that an "option for us is we will close down our manufacturing here and just move to Indonesia, or Vietnam, Malaysia, [and] import."

This came as lawmakers began debating on the proposed second tax reform measure, which aims to rationalize fiscal incentives.

Nestlé hopes lawmakers address the disadvantage of local manufacturers that use local agriculture products against those importing finished goods, the company official was quoted as saying in the report.

However, the food manufacturer said, "Coffee under our NESCAFÉ brand remains to be a core pillar for us, and we are committed to support the local coffee industry and our coffee farmers to growth."

"We have been operating in the Philippines for 107 years now, and we look forward to doing business here in the next 100 years. Nestlé is here to stay." — BAP, GMA News