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China's packaged-food sector looks abroad

Shortage of domestic supply for products is pushing companies to seek overseas deals

Shanghai

THE two-car train chugs out of Master Kong's Dream Exploration Park in eastern China, filled with children giddy from shooting cartoon cabbages to dunk in animated pots of instant noodles. Next stop: A factory churning out 4,000 packets of the real thing every minute.

They may not inspire the same levels of awe as Shanghai Disneyland, but the noodle-themed playground and nearby assembly lines are propelling Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp into its own world of tomorrow. The owner of the Master Kong brand makes half the 3.4 million tonnes of instant noodles eaten annually in China, yet revenue is stagnating as middle-class consumers abandon the salty, fatty cups for healthier options....

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