KEO in ‘landmark’ Indian deal

By Hamza Hendawi

KEO, the drinks conglomerate, will export some of its products to India under an agreement reached earlier this month with Champagne Indage, India’s largest winemakers.

A KEO statement issued yesterday said the agreement also provided for the Limassol-based company to provide the Indian party with technical know-how in the fields of oenology and viticulture.

KEO’s exports, to be distributed through the Champagne Indage network, will be restricted to wines and spirits, the statement added. KEO also produces beer, fruit juices and bottled mineral water.

The agreement was initialled during a recent visit to Cyprus by Shun Chougule, chief executive of the Indage Group, of which Champagne Indage is a subsidiary. It was ratified on December 20 during a visit to India by KEO’s managing director Akis Zampartas.

“The agreement demonstrates the high international reputation and regard for the KEO brand name and the technical expertise available in the company, ” said the KEO statement.

It said wine consumption in India, the world’s second most populous nation with close to 1 billion people, was increasing by 25 per cent every year. Together with the gradual liberalisation of the Indian economy, it noted, the KEO-Indage “landmark” agreement gave rise to “very positive medium term prospects for Cyprus wine products and the export of technical know-how.”

The KEO statement, however, gave no figures for the amounts of spirits and wines to be exported to India or any other details.

KEO registered pre-tax losses of £172,000 in the first half of 1997, compared to losses of £393,000 in the corresponding period of 1996.

Its losses, however, have been incurred due to the vast investments made by the company over the past few years to upgrade its machinery. KEO has also made sizeable acquisitions of vineyards in the Limassol district and is known to be also investing in quality research for its wine brands.

KEO’s shares on the Cyprus Stock Exchange closed at £0.97 pounds yesterday with 20,000 of the shares changing hands.

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