THE Foster's Brewing Group plans to spend at least A$250 million (about HK$1.33 billion) over the next four to five years to establish one of the strongest foreign footholds in the emerging Chinese beer market.
Chief executive Ted Kunkel told an Australian Chamber of Commerce luncheon yesterday that the company would invest the money on two joint ventures it had recently signed with Shanghai's Huaguang Brewery and the Princess Brewery in Doumen, Guangdong province.
The plans include upgrading the Huaguang brewery and the eventual construction of a plant in the Pudong development zone. A facility will also be built in Doumen.
With the two ventures, the Australian brewer has taken the lead over international rivals such as Miller Brewery, Heineken and Anheuser-Busch that either have licence agreements or no exposure to China.
Mr Kunkel said that until recently China's political environment had constrained some major beer makers from entering the market but he now expected the competition to become more intense.
''The reality is that if you want to be a serious world player, you can't be out of China,'' he said.
