Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) said on November 5 it had opened a US$65-million (S$113 million) brewery in Vietnam as part of its strategy to develop new and existing markets, The Business Times reported. The plant, APB's second in Vietnam, is being run by Hatay Breweries Ltd, in which the regional brewing giant has a 96 % stake, a company spokeswoman said from Singapore. Heineken owns around 43 % of APB while Fraser and Neave holds about 38 %.

Located in the northern province of Ha Tay, the brewery's commercial bottling operations were officially inaugurated on November 4 by Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo.

The first Tiger and Heineken beers rolled off the production lines on October 27. The plant has an annual capacity of 30 million litres of beer.

APB, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, built its first brewery in Vietnam in 1994 in the southern business capital of Ho Chi Minh City. The company, a joint venture between brewers Heineken and Fraser and Neave, operates 14 breweries in Cambodia, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Its flagship brew is Tiger, but it also produces Anchor, Heineken, Raffles, and an array of national and regional beer brands.

07 November, 2003