China: Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is close to completing its purchase of 29 % of China's Harbin Brewery Group, according to published reports. An unnamed source told Dow Jones Newswires that the deal might close in the next few days. Once the purchase of the stake is complete, A-B may make a counter-offer to buy all other shares of Harbin, according to analysts, according to American City Business Journals.

A-B announced plans May 2 to buy about 29 percent of Harbin, through a purchase of Global Conduit Holdings Ltd., an investment holding company. SABMiller, which also owns about 29 percent of Harbin, then made a $391 hostile takeover bid for the Chinese brewer, which rejected the bid.

The Harbin Brewery Group ranked as one of the top five brewery groups in China in 2001based on production volume.

A-B is already boosting its investment in Qinqdao, China-based Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd., which holds an 12.8 percent share of the beer market in China with its Tsingtao brand. The company said the beer market in China is the world's second largest with 200 million hectolitres, or 4.4 billion gallons, and has been growing annually at 6 percent. Tsingtao beer is the No. 1 beer brand in China and the most well-known Chinese beer in the international market.

St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. is the world's largest brewer, manufactures and recycles aluminum cans and operates theme parks. It also owns 98 percent of the Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing Co., in Wuhan, China, where Budweiser is brewed.

19 May, 2004