Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), the producer of the ubiquitous Anchor and Tiger beers, has further expanded its operations in the last month with two new breweries, one in Laos and one in Vietnam.
APB will construct a second brewery in southern Vietnam to complement its already existing operation on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City which opened in 2003. The brewery, producing Tiger Beer, Heineken, Anchor and Bivina, has had its initial capacity of 30 million liters increased by more than 50 percent, to 46 million liters.
"Vietnam is a key contributor to our financial performance in the Indochina region, which is APB's largest profit generator," said Koh Poh Tiong, APB's chief executive officer. "The expansion of HBL's capacity is in line with our strategy to grow bigger and stronger in that market."
The new US$49 million Lao brewery is only the second to be granted a beer investment license by the Lao government. The new 30 million liter state of- the-art brewery in Xaythany District, Vientiene will brew Tiger Beer using Australian malt, European hops and Dutch yeast. Laos becomes the ninth country in the Asia Pacific region to brew Tiger beer.
APB was formed in 1931 and now has five operations in Southeast Asia, controlling 33 breweries in 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region, and selling over 40 brands of beer. "Regional expansion has always been a critical cornerstone of APB's growth strategy," Koh Poh Tiong concluded.