China: Chongqing Brewery Co., China's sixth- biggest brewer by production, said the country's commerce ministry approved its plan to sell a 19.5 % stake to Scottish & Newcastle Plc., the brewer of John Smith's and Kronenbourg brands, Bloomberg announced on September 29.

The company's parent got permission from the ministry to sell 50 million state-owned shares to the U.K.'s largest brewer, Chongqing Brewery said in a statement to the Shanghai stock exchange. Scottish & Newcastle said in February it will pay 35 million pounds ($65 million) for the stake.

Scottish & Newcastle is making its first foray into China, where Anheuser-Busch Cos., SABMiller Plc and Carlsberg A/S are stepping up expansion as more Europeans and Americans cut back on beer drinking. China is the world's last beer producer, making 25.7 million tons last year, up 6.4 percent from 2002, according to Tsingtao Brewery Co., the nation's biggest brewer.

Carlsberg yesterday said it agreed to buy 34.5 percent of Wusu Brewery in Xinjiang, northwestern China, for an undisclosed sum, bringing the number of Chinese breweries it's acquired stakes in since July to five. Wusu can brew 180,000 tons of beer a year, according to its Web site.

Chongqing, in the southwest, is China's most populous city, with about 31 million people, almost the population of Canada.

29 September, 2004