China: Tsingtao is looking to produce its beer destined for markets outside China in Southeast Asia, The Financial Times said on April 28. According to the source the Chinese brewer plans to production of Tsingtao Beer on contract at one Southeast Asian brewery and will sell it in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The move is part of an attempt to boost offshore sales by Tsingtao, which previously only exported beer produced in China, the newspaper said. It will also give the brewer a route to market bypassing high shipping costs and tariff barriers. The Financial Times cites Li Guirong, the company’s chairman, as saying that Tsingtao expects to launch production at a new brewery in Taiwan in the middle of next year.

30 April, 2004