APB invests in Vietnam

APB's Chris Kidd: further investments anticipated

New bottling line, capacity expansion in Danang

Asia Pacific Breweries is pushing capital expenditure into its Vietnamese operations, today cutting the ribbon on a packaging line at Vietnam Brewery Ltd’s Danang plant.

The new line incorporates the latest robotic technology, doubling line speed to 50,000 bottles per hour. The line is part of an investment programme at Danang that will see the doubling of the brewery’s capacity with the installation of a new brewhouse. Fermentation tanks will be added and warehousing expanded, with the expansion programme to be completed in 2011.
 
The Danang brewery is home to Larue, a beer brand with a heritage dating back more than a century. Larue is available in 40 Vietnamese provinces with the brand having enjoyed double-digit growth over the past two years.

APB Indochina regional director Chris Kidd commented, “Vietnam has been a significant and growing contributor to the bottom line of the APB Group. We believe the long term prospects of the Vietnamese beer market remain favourable, given its large population and rising affluence. We anticipate further investments in capacity expansion will be necessary to maintain our competitive position.”

International beverage market research consultancy Canadean estimates that there was a 12% increase in beer consumption in 2009 despite the effects of the global economic recession. It projects similar percentage growth for 2010.

APB holds a majority 60% stake in the VBL joint venture; the other 40% is owned by Vietnamese holding company SATRA Group. VBL operates five breweries in the south of the country; in the north APB is present through wholly owned subsidiary Asia Pacific Brewery (Hanoi) Ltd.