China: Anheuser-Busch to build a brewery in Guangdong Province to support growth of Budweiser and Harbin brands

Anheuser-Busch announced it will build a greenfield brewery in Foshan to support the significant growth of Budweiser and Harbin premium brands throughout China, according to companys’ press release of April 3.

Anheuser-Busch is doubling Budweiser’s distribution in China over the next five years by expanding to 100 new cities each with a population of at least 1 million people. These markets will make Budweiser available to an additional 150 million potential beer drinkers. Anheuser-Busch also plans to introduce Harbin premium brands to 33 new markets in 2007.

The strong growth of Anheuser-Busch brands in China over the past 10 years combined with the planned expansion to new cities signals the confidence the international brewer has in the Chinese beer market. The construction of the new Budweiser Brewing Foshan Co. Ltd. ensures Anheuser-Busch has sufficient supply as the company strengthens its position in China.

In 2006, China’s beer market grew nearly 15%, the third consecutive year of double-digit volume growth. Additionally, Grupo Modelo named Anheuser-Busch the importer of Corona Extra and its other brands in China.

“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 industry and have tremendous long-term potential.”

The Foshan brewery supports Anheuser-Busch’s strategy to best position itself for future growth in China. This includes promoting Budweiser as a leading international premium beer, expanding the Harbin premium brands outside the Northeast region and working in partnership with the Tsingtao Brewery Co. to strengthen its position as a leading brewer in China.

Scheduled for completion in late 2008, the Foshan brewery will be built on a 249,000 square-meter site and cost $63 million. The facility will have a production capacity of 2.6 million hectoliters with potential for expansion.

In 1995, Anheuser-Busch established its first brewing facility in China in the city of Wuhan. Relying on strong consumer demand and support from the local government, the Wuhan brewery had expanded and quadrupled its original capacity to 4.2 million hectoliters.

“The Wuhan government’s support over the past 12 years has played an instrumental role in Anheuser-Busch’s success in China,” said Busch. “This model relationship continues to be the foundation for our growth throughout China.”

About Anheuser Busch
Based in St. Louis, Anheuser‑Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.4% share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser‑Busch also owns a 50% share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer, and a 27% share in China brewer Tsingtao, whose namesake beer brand is the country’s best‑selling premium beer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine’s Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2007. Anheuser‑Busch is one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world’s largest recyclers of aluminum cans.

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