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China Guangzhou-based Zhujiang Brewery, whose Zhujiang beer is among China's top three name brands after Tsingtao and Yanjing, will build Asia's largest brewery in Guangdong by 2005, according to chairman and general manager Yang Rongming, the Chinese newspaper The Standard reported on November 14. Annual beer production of the new plant will be 1.5 million tonnes.

To reach this target, the company will invest 150 million yuan (HK$140.76 million) between now and March to increase production by 200,000 tonnes, Yang said. The company hoped to expand annual production to 5 million tonnes by 2010 to become one of the top 10 brewers in the world, Yang said. Over the past 10 months, production and sales rose by 20 % , Yang said, adding that the company would launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the mainland next year. The company would then tap the overseas market with Hong Kong as its first choice.

Zhujiang is the last of the three name brand breweries to go for public listing. Tsingtao brewery is listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, while Yanjing is listed in Shenzhen.

Zhujiang Brewery was established as a joint stock company in December - the first step to an IPO. It has registered capital of 436.36 million yuan and total assets of 1,956.18 million yuan. Belgian beer maker Interbrew, the world's third-largest brewer by volume, has a 24 % stake in the Guangzhou-based brewer. Yang said the company was also considering setting up breweries in Asian countries.

Between 1998 and 2002, Zhujiang Brewery invested 500 million yuan to upgrade its technology and equipment. During the same period, the company's annual production rose from 500,000 tonnes to one million tonnes, output value increased from 1.2 billion yuan to 2.8 billion yuan, net profit jumped from 35 million yuan to 280 million yuan, net assets rose from 700 million yuan to 1.6 billion yuan.

According to official statistics, mainland beer production reached 23.87 million tonnes last year, surpassing the United States' 22 million tonnes, to become the world's largest beer producer. Mainland production this year is expected to top 24 million tonnes.


14 November, 2003