Pepsi's VP of marketing Yi-Chung Tay to depart

Tay, who is from Singapore, confirmed the news but declined to further to comment until a time closer to his departure date.

An agency source said, "He will be missed by the agency folk."

Reported in October, Chris Tung, ex marketing VP of Pepsi China, resigned and joined Hudong.com as CEO. Tay, then marketing director for Pepsi's flavoured drink business, was promoted to replace Tung.

PepsiCo is making a play to beef up its presence in China with a US$2.5 billion investment over the next three years.