lleineken strengthens
jmsition in Asia
and Central Europe
Greenfield operations in China, Cambodia and Myanmar
30 Recent participations in China and Cambodia
clearly reflect Heineken's approach to the expan
sion plans in Asia that were announced by chair
man Karei Vuursteen in 1993.
In September 1994 it was announc
ed that Asia Pacific Breweries, a
joint venture of lleineken and
Singapore-based Fraser Neave, had
signed an agreement with Hainan
Brewery Ltd. for the construction of a
brand new brewery on the island of
Hainan, just off the coast of mainland
China. Just as in provinces such as
Guangdong and Guangxi, economic
developments on Hainan are also
moving at a very fast speed.
The island has 7.5 million inhabi
tants and beer consumption is still
low. The market is estimated at
800,000 hectolitres and a small brew
ery with a capacity of 100,000 hecto
litres has been operational since the
beginning of 1994. The remaining
700,000 hectolitres are supplied from
the mainland. Those brands also
include lleineken Beer, which is
imported from Holland.
Construction of the brewery has
meanwhile been started. It will have
an initial capacity of 650,000 hecto
litres but this will soon be expanded
to 1.3 million hectolitres, If everything
goes according to plan, the brewery
will be operational within two years.
The intention is that the new brewery
will brew Tiger beer, both for Hainan
and for the mainland.
Hainan Brewery Ltd. is a company
that has been specially set up for this
project. China's Ministry of Trade has
a 75% stake in Hainan Brewery Ltd.,
which in turn holds a 20% interest in
the new brewery. The remaining 80%
is held by Asia Pacific Breweries
(APB).
Cambodia
One-and-a-half months after the
signing of the agreement with Hainan
Brewery, it was announced that APB
is going to build a brewery in
Cambodia, close to the capital of
Phnom Phen. After Vietnam, Thailand
and Hainan, the brewery in Cambodia
will be Heineken's fourth greenfield
operation in Asia.
Construction of the brewery start
ed at the beginning of 1995 and
expectations are that production can
be started up in mid-1996. The brew
ery will brew Tiger lager and ABC
Stout. At the moment Tiger, the
country's biggest brand, is still
imported. The three brands
Heineken, Tiger and ABC Stout
together hold 75% of the market. At
the present time one local brewery is
operational in Cambodia.
Myanmar
In March 1995 it was announced
that APB is going to build a brewery
close to Myanmar's capital city of
Yangon. APB has concluded a joint
venture contract with the Union of
Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd.
(UMEHL). APB has a sixty per cent
stake in the new company, which will
be know as Myanmar Brewery Ltd.
The Remaining forty per cent share is
held by UMEHL.
The brewery's initial capacity will
be 140,000 hectolitres, with possible
later expansion to 450,000 hectolitres.
The new brewery will come on stream
in mid-1996 and will brew Tiger beer.
Bulgaria
But in Eastern Europe, too,
Heineken is continuing its expansion.
Athenian Brewery, a Heineken opera
ting company, has set up a 50/50%
joint venture called Brewinvest
together with the Greek Hellenic
Bottling Company. This joint venture
has acquired an 80% interest in
Zagorka, Bulgaria's biggest brewery.
The remaining twenty per cent conti
nues to be held by the Bulgarian
government.
The Zagorka brewery is located in
Stara Zagorka in the south of
Bulgaria. It was founded in 1903 and
has an annual production capacity of
1 million hectolitres. The brewery's
market share is around 20%. Its lead
ing brand is called Zagorka.
Heineken and Amstel are imported in
Bulgaria. The total beer market
amounts to five million hectolitres
and per capita consumption is
approximately 57 litres per year.
THE WORLD OF HEINEKEN
