Brazil, São Paulo: Companhia de Bebidas das Américas – AmBev, the world’s fifth largest brewer and Brazil’s leading beverage company, announced on March 1 that its Board of Directors approved the payment of interest on own capital and complementary dividends, relating to the results of the last five months of 2003, to complement the payment of compulsory dividends of fiscal year 2003.

The Board approved the payment of interest on own capital (IOC) of R$ 0.56235 per common ADR and R$ 0.61859 per preferred ADR. Net of withholding income tax, the payment of interest on own capital amounts to R$ 0.47800 per common ADR and R$ 0.52580 per preferred ADR. Additionally, the Board approved the payment of complementary dividends of R$ 0.13600 per common ADR and R$ 0.14960 per preferred ADR, which are exempt from income taxes. Payments will be made on March 25, 2004. The record date for BOVESPA will be March 15, 2004, and the record date for NYSE will be March 18, 2004 to assure the shares trade ex-dividends on both stock exchanges as of March 16, 2004.

The payment of interest on own capital (IOC) and dividends are an integral part of AmBev’s longterm strategy of continuously enhancing shareholder value by combining efficient use of strong cash flow generation with wise management of its capital structure, as evidenced by its investment grade rating in local currency. After investing in core activities that increase cash generation to debt holders as well as profits to shareholders, the Company also remains committed in returning cash through dividends and share buybacks. The combination of: (i) dividend payments above the minimum defined in its by-laws; (ii) continuous share buy-back programs; and, (iii) proactive debt rollover, is also of paramount importance to assure the most efficient capital structure for the Company.

As of September 30, 2003, AmBev’s consolidated net debt (Including the impact of the proportional consolidation of Quinsa’s debt and cash) was R$ 2,623.2 million while its consolidated gross cash flow generation (EBITDA2) over the last twelve months reached R$ 3,108.6 million, evidencing that its net debt to EBITDA ratio was below one (approximately 0.8), well below the Company’s two times target range.

02 March, 2004