Aice Brands Ice Cream of Indonesia signed an agreement with Aboitiz InfraCapital to set up a manufacturing plant at LIMA Estate in Batangas province that will create 2,000 job opportunities.
The infrastructure arm of the Aboitiz Group said in a statement Aice Philippines Inc. would occupy 49,070 square meters at LIMA Estate to put up its factory. The plant is expected to come on stream by October 2023.
LIMA Land Inc. president and Aboitiz InfraCapital economic estates head Rafael Fernandez de Mesa said foreign investors recognized the market potential of the Philippines.
“We’re going beyond simply providing a high-quality physical product. We are also putting sustainability, resilience and smart technology adoption at the forefront of everything we are doing, which now puts us on par with regional players” he said.
The Batangas factory, the fourth Aice plant outside Indonesia and the largest in ASEAN, would supply local demand.
“We chose to partner with Aboitiz InfraCapital to provide more service guarantees for the development of the early civil construction and the formal operation of the later factory,” said Aice Philippines Inc. engineering director Cai Xiang Jun.
He said that as an international development zone, LIMA Estate’s professional operations team, high-quality service, professional technical personnel and safe security would assist Aice to meet the needs of the local market and push the brand to be the most popular in Southeast Asia.
“As we commit to creating a positive impact in the Philippines, we look forward to providing more job opportunities, growing together with resellers in every community and spreading more happiness to our consumers,” he said.
AIC said its partnership with Aice Brands is a testament to the success of LIMA’s industrial expansion, which upon completion is expected to generate at least 40,000 jobs.
Aboitiz InfraCapital’s 150-hectare industrial expansion will bring new inventory to the market when interest in the Philippines as an investment destination is picking up momentum. The expansion will buttress LIMA Estate’s position as a driver of economic activity and progress that uplifts the lives of thousands of Filipinos, it said.