French food and beverage giant Groupe Danone SA yesterday called
on Chinese drinks maker Wahaha to ensure the smooth operation of
their joint ventures as the long-simmering tensions between the two
companies could hurt sales.
Danone, which owns 51 percent of the 39 joint ventures it has
with its estranged partner Wahaha, also expressed shock yesterday
at Wahaha's decision to reveal information from the joint ventures'
board meetings, which ended on June 21. The information should have
been kept confidential.
"What has taken us by great surprise is that (Wahaha) publicized
in an incomplete way the important contents discussed during the
meetings - only several hours after they ended," the French company
said in a statement delivered via Ogilvy Public Relations.
For their part, directors of Wahaha, without identifying
themselves, yesterday released a detailed account of the friction
during the meetings.
According to Wahaha, Danone hired a dozen bodyguards to observe
the meetings, which took place at the Hangzhou headquarters of
Wahaha Group. They said the Chinese side alerted police after
Emmanuel Faber, the French company's Asia-Pacific region president,
left without notifying the Chinese directors.
"Don't measure our noble heart by your own petty mind," the
board members were quoted as saying in the statement.
The feud surfaced as Zong Qinghou, founder of Wahaha, rejected
Danone's bid to buy out some of Wahaha's assets, while Danone
alleged that some companies linked to Zong's family are selling
Wahaha-branded products identical to those marketed by their joint
ventures.
The dispute heated up after Danone filed a lawsuit in the US,
and the 62-year-old Zong resigned as chairman of the venture early
this month.
(China Daily June 25, 2007)