Heineken's focus on
Asia bears fruit
APB as strategic vehicle for expansion
"1993 was not just a good year, it was the real
breakthrough." Maarten 11Rijkens, Coordinating
Director Asia Pacific, is enthusiastic about devel
opments in the region he is responsible for. That's
only logical in view of the fast progress achieved
there within a short space of time.
In August last year Heineken
announced that, via Asia Pacific
Breweries (APB), it had acquired a
participation in the Fujian brewery in
China. A month later a joint venture
contract was signed (also via APB) for
the construction of a brewery near
Bangkok, Thailand. November signal
led the official opening of the new
brewery near Ho Chi Minh City in
Coordinating director Maarten H. Rijkens
Vietnam. In the same month
Heineken also announced that APB
had acquired a majority shareholding
in the New Zealand DB Group.
Contrast
These recent developments form a
big contrast with the past. For decad
es the Far East was a region which
was not all too high on Heineken's list
of priorities, explains Mr Bijkens. As
long ago as 1931 the joint venture in
Singapore had been started up with
soft drinks manufacturer Fraser
Neave, which resulted in Malayan
Breweries (currently APB). But the
joint venture's activities were mainly
limited to Singapore, Malaysia and
Papua New Guinea. In that same year
Heineken also acquired its interest in
Indonesia.
And yet Mr Bijkens does not play
down the importance of that early
joint venture. "With hindsight, the
joint venture with Fraser Neave
was an excellent move, as it means
that Heineken has been represented
in the Asia Pacific region for decades
and has built up a wealth of know-
how and market insight."
In the shade
In the 'seventies and 'eighties
Heineken's strategy was aimed prin
cipally at strengthening its position in
the home market: Europe. This was
demonstrated by acquisitions in
countries such as Italy, Spain, France
and Ireland. Asia remained somewhat
in the shade.
The second half of the 'eighties
brought a phase in which Heineken
decided to refocus its cooperation
with Fraser Neave. In 1986 it was
agreed with Fraser Neave that the
partnership would be strengthened
and that combined efforts would be
made, within the framework of APB,
to seek further expansion in the
region. The participation in the Mila
brewery in the Chinese port of
Shanghai was the first tangible result.
When he was posted to Singapore
as deputy group general manager of
APB, Mr Bijkens also helped to cata
logue the exact possibilities that exist
for Heineken in that region. On his
return to Amsterdam in 1991, he con-
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
