Pepsico, Struggling at Home, to Invest $1 Billion in China

(MoneyWatch)  Pepsico, which plans to cut 3,300 jobs and close six plants in the wake of its weak third-quarter results, will invest $1 billion in China over the next four years to increase production there. The move could create "thousands" of jobs, the company said in an announcement Monday.

The savings from the plant closings are targeted to be about $1.2 billion over three years.

"We are enormously confident in the continued prosperity of China, '' said CEO Indra Nooyi. She's obviously a lot less confident of the company's stateside prosperity.

As Bloomberg notes:

Pepsico joins other foreign consumer companies such as Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in focusing on emerging markets while their sales suffer at home as the sluggish U.S. economy curbs spending.

Add to that list Tyson Foods. Tyson Chief Don Tyson told the Associated Press in a recent interview of his plans to concentrate much more on emerging markets.

Pepsico makes and sells brands in China such as its flagship soda, Frito-Lay snacks, Quaker packaged foods and Tropicana juices. In all, the company and its bottling partners employ about 22,000 people there. Coca-Cola has about 54 percent of the Chinese soda market. Pepsico trails with 31 percent.