THE Coca-Cola Company on Saturday announced the reshaping of its bottling operations in China.

    The announcement was made jointly with an agreement of the Coca-Cola Company and its Bottling Investments Group China, COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd. (a subsidiary of COFCO Corp.), and Swire Beverage Holdings Ltd.

    As a result, Coca-Cola’s bottling operations in China will be concentrated in its two franchise partners, COFCO and Swire. COFCO will own and operate 18 bottling plants, while Swire will own and operate 17.

    “Today’s announcement marks our refocus on core strengths of building great brands and leading a strong, global franchise system,” said Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company.(Xinhua)