Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Masami Iijima) and Kagome Co., Ltd. ("Kagome", Head Office: Nagoya, President: Naoyuki Terada) and the Malaysian commercial condiment manufacturer Longson Food Products Sdn. Bhd. ("Longson") have jointly established an operating company ("Operating Company") to manufacture and sell processed tomato products and condiments in halal markets, including the ASEAN region. Mitsui and Kagome will own 65% of the Operating Company's shares through a joint investment company.

The ASEAN region's economic development has been paralleled by the growth of its population, which is now approximately 600 million. With Muslims making up almost 50% of this population, demand for halal foodstuffs is expected to expand further. Moreover, the diversification of food lifestyles is reflected in the establishment of a growing number of outlets by European and North American restaurant chains. This trend is expected to result in increasing demand for processed tomato products and condiments, such as pizza sauce.

Kagome is a major company in the processed tomato products business with customers that include European and American restaurant chains. It is speeding up the development of its business operations in rapidly expanding overseas markets. Longson has been involved in the manufacture of condiments in Malaysia since its founding and has extensive knowledge and experience of the halal certification process.

Mitsui excels in the global procurement of raw materials and leverages its regional networks to develop new customers. By combining Kagome's customer base and Longson's expertise as a manufacturer of halal condiments, Mitsui aims to establish a significant presence in the markets for processed tomato products and condiments targeted at food manufacturers, especially in the ASEAN region.

Mitsui will continue to respond to the growing demand for food services in overseas markets, including the markets of emerging countries, by creating businesses to manufacture products that precisely match the needs of consumers in those markets. By investing in the Operating Company, Mitsui will accelerate business expansion in the ASEAN halal market in anticipation of future growth, while also contributing to local food culture through supplying products to meet new needs.

Business Scheme

Profile of the Operating Company

Company name	Kagome Longson Pdn. Bhd
Head office	Pelabuhan Klang, Selagor, Malaysia.
Representative	Soh Kinn Roo, Managing Director
Establishment	February 2015
Capital	2 million Malaysian ringgits (approximately ¥64 million)
Shareholders	Joint investment company (KMB DL Investment Singapore Pte. Ltd.): 65% Longson: 35%
Business activities	Production and sale of processed tomato products and condiments

Profile of Longson

Company name	Longson Food Products Sdn. Bhd.
Head office	Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Representative	Soh Kinn Roo, Managing Director
Establishment	1982
Capital	0.26 million Malaysian ringgits (approximately ¥8.4 million, year ended December 2013)
Net sales	13 million Malaysian ringgits (approximately ¥416 million, as of December 31, 2013)
Employees	62
Business activities	Manufacture and sale of condiments

Notice:
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Mitsui's current assumptions, expectations and beliefs in light of the information currently possessed by it and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause Mitsui's actual results, financial position or cash flows to be materially different from any future results, financial position or cash flows expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and other factors referred to above include, but are not limited to, those contained in Mitsui's latest Annual Securities Report and Quarterly Securities Report, and Mitsui undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
This announcement is published in order to publicly announce specific facts stated above, and does not constitute a solicitation of investments or any similar act inside or outside of Japan, regarding the shares, bonds or other securities issued by us.