China: Competition between two leading Chinese beer makers turned violent over the weekend, with at least three people left slightly injured following a clash in the southern city of Shenzhen, AFX News cited an official with one of the brewers. Sales staff from Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd., China's biggest brewer, broke into the office building of rival Kingway Brewery Holdings on Saturday and destroyed some facilities, an official with Tsingtao's branch in south China told XFN-Asia in a telephone interview.

The situation escalated into physical clashes and several Kingway employees smashed the windshields of Tsingtao cargo trucks in Kingway's parking lot, the official said.

At least three, including unspecified Tsingtao staff, were "slightly" injured during the row, which was brought to an end after police intervention.

The official insisted that the conflict was caused by "very few" staff, adding that senior management on both sides are actively resolving the issue.

The clash, believed to be the first between Chinese breweries, highlighted the cut-throat competition in the world's largest beer market, where local beer makers and foreign heavyweights -- such as Inbev, Anheuser-Busch -- are competing for a larger share, industry analysts said.

Tsingtao, 9.91 pct controlled by Anheuser-Busch, is based in the eastern city of Qingdao, the home turf of appliance maker Haier.

Like Haier, Tsingtao has not only made itself one of the most recognized Chinese brands overseas, but has also branched out aggressively within the country, taking over smaller peers and chipping away at the market share of its rivals, such as Hong Kong-listed Kingway.

Tsingtao entered the affluent southern China region, Kingway's main market, six years ago. It now claims some 20 pct of the market there, leaving the once dominant Kingway far behind, the official said. Details of Kingway's market share in south China are unavailable, and calls to the company's headquarters in Shenzhen were not answered.

10 April, 2005