Asahi to Enhance Tie-Up with Tsingtao Brewery: Pres.

Tokyo, Oct. 22 (Jiji Press)--Asahi Breweries Ltd. <2502> is
planning to strengthen its tie-up with major Chinese beer maker Tsingtao Brewery Co. in a bid to boost sales in Asia, President Hitoshi Ogita says.

In a recent interview with Jiji Press, Ogita said Asahi cannot
survive escalating competition in China by itself, adding that Tsingtao
Brewery is the best partner in the country.
Specifically, Asahi will boost beer production capacity at its
joint venture with the Chinese firm, raising its annual total for 2010 by
some 50 pct to 330,000 kiloliters from an estimated 210,000 kiloliters for
2008.
Asahi, which has so far spent 2,230 million yen to boost capacity
at the joint venture, Shenzhen Tsingtaobeer Asahi Co. Ogita described the
joint venture as a supply base in Asia.
Established in 1997 by Asahi, trading house Itochu Corp. <8001> and
Tsingtao Brewery, the joint venture makes Asahi's flagship Super Dry beer
and Tsingtao Beer for sales in China, Cambodia, South Korea and India.
Asahi also hopes to bolster its ties with Tsingtao Brewery in the
fields of marketing strategy and quality assurance, Ogita said.
His comments come at a time when Asahi is interested in acquiring
an equity stake in Saigon Alcohol Beverage Corp., a major Vietnamese brewer,
as part of its business expansion in Asia.