Tsingtao Brewery considers opening breweries in other Asian countries in addition to its planned Bangkok plant, which will have annual capacity of 200,000 liters when it opens in 2013

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , January 11, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – In addition to its Bangkok plant, which will have an annual capacity of 200,000 liters when it opens in 2013, Chinese brewer Tsingtao Brewery Co. Ltd. is considering opening breweries in other Asian countries, China Daily reported Jan. 10.

The Bangkok plant, which has an estimated cost of US$100 million, is both Tsingtao’s first international brewery and the first overseas expansion in the entire Chinese brewing industry.

According to Ma Ning, the deputy general manager of Tsingtao Brewery’s international headquarters, the company is particularly interested in expanding into countries where labor is cheap, the Tsingtao brand is recognized, and the market is both sizeable and open.

Ma added that Tsingtao is most interested in expanding into emerging markets located in areas such as Latin America, the Middle East and other parts of Asia, rather than into developed markets that are facing economic problems and have already-established brands.

Approximately 1.5% of Tsingtao’s total sales come from overseas markets. Ma reported that Tsingtao expects its percentage of overseas sales to rise to 50% sometime during the next three years.

In 2010, Tsingtao’s sales in Eastern Europe and the Middle East rose by 202% and 76%, respectively.

Ma reported that Tsingtao sent a team to examine the company’s expansion potential in other Asian countries. The team is expected to produce a report detailing how Tsingtao could develop and promote its products in those countries.

The primary source of this article is China Daily, Beijing, China, on Jan. 10, 2012.

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