Shanghai – Brewer Carlsberg has signed a multi-million dollar deal with a Chinese company to make beer in Tibet, state press said Wednesday.
The new company, Tibet Lhasa Brewery, is a 50-50 joint venture between Carlsberg International and Tibet Galaxy Science Technology Development, China Securities Journal reported.
Tibet Lhasa Brewery has registered capital of $45.91 million (R305.3 million) with annual production capacity of 150 000 tonnes, the newspaper said.
The deal follows a set of cooperation proposals between Lanzhou Huanghe Enterprise Group, Carlsberg and the Danish Industrialization Fund for Developing Countries that were announced last month.
According to the terms, Carlsberg and the fund will pay $19.1 million for stakes in four breweries in northwestern China – three in Gansu and one in Qinghai provinces, Carlsberg said.
Foreign beer makers have aggressively made inroads into China as barriers to trade have fallen amid expectations that people will drink more as incomes rise.
Beer is already by far the country’s most popular alcoholic drink, even in the remotest parts of the country.
Overall consumption from 1997 to 2002 jumped 40 percent to 16.5 litres per head.
Last week, the world’s No. 2 beer maker, SABMiller, inked an agreement to establish a $82.3-million (R547.2 million) brewery in southern China with venture partner China Resources Enterprise, press reports said.
