Food and drink giant PepsiCo has confirmed plans to invest £3.4bn into India by 2020.
The company, which makes Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana Juice and Walkers Crisps, is seeking to further strengthen its market share in one of its largest global markets.
The investment will account for adding to its existing product range in the country while expanding its manufacturing and distribution facilities across Asia’s third-largest economy.
The investment comes after rival Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage manufacturer, announced last year that it was to invest a similar figure between 2012 and 2020 to grow its business in India.
Indra Nooyi, PepsiCo’s chief executive officer, said: “India is a country with huge potential and it remains an attractive, high-priority market for PepsiCo.”
“We’ve built a highly successful business in India over the course of many years and we believe we’ve only scratched the surface of the long-term growth opportunities that exist for PepsiCo and our partners,” she added.
The company, which also owns the Quaker and Frito-Lay brands, said it estimates that the new investment will create more than 100,000 jobs.
This adds to the 200,000 it said it has already helped create since first investing in the country in 1990.