ANHEUSER-BUSCH Co Ltd announced it will invest US$63 million to build a plant in Foshan in Guangdong Province in southern China to expand production and meet the growing demand in the country.

The world's largest brewery said the new Budweiser Brewing Foshan Co Ltd will have a production capacity of 2.6 million hectoliters, with potential for expansion.

Construction of the new plant is set to finish at the end of next year. "As the largest-volume and fastest-growing beer market in the world, China remains one of our most important international priorities," said August A. Busch IV, president and chief executive officer of Anheuser-Busch. "The Foshan brewery allows us to increase the availability of Budweiser and Harbin premium brands in China where the premium and super-premium beer categories are growing faster than the rest of the market and have tremendous long-term potential."

The US brewer competes with InBev NV, SABMiller Plc and Carlsberg A/S in China, the world's largest beer market. In 2006, China's beer market grew nearly 15 percent, the third consecutive year of double-digit volume growth as increasing incomes helped to boost beer consumption.

St Louis-based Anheuser-Busch has focused on the high-end market in China with its Budweiser brand, which has captured 40 percent share in this segment in first- and second-tier cities.

The company plans to double Budweiser's distribution in China over the next five years by expanding to 100 new cities. Its first Chinese brewing facility in Wuhan had expanded and quadrupled its original capacity to 4.2 million hectoliters last year. Taking into account the fast growing market demand, the company also actively sought mergers and acquisitions to brew its expansion.

The company beat SAB Miller to acquire the century-old Harbin, China's fifth-biggest brewer, in 2004.

Source:佚名