Interbrew SA, the brewer of Stella Artois and Rolling Rock, said it's not interested in buying part or all of Guangdong Brewery Holdings Ltd., whose shares surged yesterday on speculation it would be acquired by a foreign beermaker, Bloomberg posted on July 7. “Interbrew is not looking at Guangdong,'' said Marianne Amssoms, a spokeswoman for Leuven, Belgium-based Interbrew. “It does not fit our strategy.”

Interbrew last month bought 70 percent of China's Zhejiang Shiliang Brewery Company Ltd. for $53.2 million, strengthening its position as the No. 2 beermaker in the world's fastest-growing beer market. The acquisition will raise its market share in Zhejiang, a province of 47 million people in eastern China, to 50 percent.

Shares of Guangdong Brewery surged 33 percent in Hong Kong yesterday, the biggest gain since the stock began trading in August, 1997. Today, the shares slid 15 percent after the Chinese brewer said it wasn't aware of any reason for the record surge.

13 July, 2004