MAM
Coca-Cola to invest $2 bn in India
MUMBAI: Coca-Cola will splurge $30 billion over the next five years starting 2012, out of which India‘s share is $2 billion.
Coca-Cola and its bottling partners in India will invest in consumer marketing and brand building, innovation, expansion of distribution and cold drink equipment placement as well as further development of manufacturing capacity to meet growing consumer demand.
India is a strategic growth country for the company, ranking among its top 10 markets in volume globally and is the largest market in the Eurasia and Africa Group. The aim is to make India one of the top 5 coke markets by the end of this decade.
Coca-Cola is looking at doubling its India revenues this decade.
Coca-Cola president Eurasia and Africa Group Ahmet C Bozer said, “India is one of our most important growth markets as we work toward our 2020 Vision of doubling system revenues and servings this decade. The opportunity in the packaged beverage segment is immense, and our efforts in India are focused on being the beverage of choice all day, every day. If we continue to do the right things each day and at all times, it would not surprise me if India becomes one of the top five markets for the company globally by the end of this decade.”
Coca-Cola has already invested over $2 billion in India since it re-entered the country in 1993. The investments announced today by Coca-Cola will further catalyze economic growth and create new opportunities for the local community.
Coca-Cola India and South West Asia president and CEO Atul Singh said, “This investment is a part of our long-term commitment to invest in innovation, partnerships and a portfolio of brands that will enable us to grow our business in a sustainable and responsible way. In addition to our infrastructure and capabilities, the new investment will also focus on enhancing the consumer experience, building brand loyalty and contributing to environmental sustainability and community development. Our India business has been growing at a robust rate over the last five years, and our goal is to continue this growth momentum. The country‘s demographics, economic and social parameters are all huge drivers of growth and we have to ensure that we capitalize on the opportunity.”
The Coca-Cola company has continuously registered volume growth in India for the past 21 quarters, 15 of which have seen double-digit growth.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
