LISTED Alliance Select Foods International Inc. (ASFI) is spending $500,000 to further increase its controlling interest in canned tuna subsidiary PT International Alliance Foods Indonesia, a stock exchange filing on Thursday showed.

Alliance Select said it will own 99.98 percent of PT International Alliance Foods Indonesia from the current 89.98 percent, pending approval from Indonesian regulators. It said the shares were acquired from PT Wailan Pratama for $1 each.

ASFI said the move comes ahead of plans to aggressively increase its production and marketing efforts in Indonesia, currently Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.  

“ASFI feels that Indonesia will play a crucial role in the company’s future growth and profitability,” the company said in its filing. It said full control of the Indonesian subsidiary will allow the company to plan better “production schedules and sales strategy to tap additional export markets around the globe.”

ASFI first established its Indonesian unit in 2008 to secure a steady supply of raw materials given the country’s rich marine resources. Apart from Indonesia, ASFI tuna factories located in General Santos, Mindanao. ASFI has also expanded into salmon processing through units in New Zealand and the US.

ASFI shares declined 0.69 percent to P1.44 each on Thursday’s trading, giving it a market value of P1.45 billion.