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Asia/Australia
Japan | On 1 October, Japan standardised its liquor tax for regular beer, low-malt happoshu and third-category beer-like drinks at JPY 54.25 (about USD 0.34) for a standard 350 ml can. The change is equal to a tax cut for regular beer and an increase for happoshu and beer-like drinks. These adjustments are expected to be reflected in retail prices.
Asia/Australia
China | Much has been made of the renaissance of standing up bars in Munich in recent years. The local craft brewer Giesinger already operates a dozen of those micro pubs, where punters drop in to down a quick pint. But this number pales with China’s Fresh Beer Fulujia chain. The company, whose name translates as “Lucky Deer”, has opened more than 3,200 mini-pubs across the country since 2021, making it the world’s largest bar chain.
Asia/Australia
Singapore | In the widening family and governance dispute which is now stretching across several countries, Gregory Clerc, a former Swiss tax adviser to Pierre Castel and now a director of the French-African wine and beverages Castel Group, suffered a setback. On 30 July, the High Court of Singapore rejected an appeal by Mr Clerc against his suspension as a director of Investment Beverage Business Management, or IBBM, a Singapore company that is one of the group’s main holding entities.
Asia/Australia
Laos | Lao Brewery Company (LBC) keeps the taps flowing as the nation’s economy slows. The Carlsberg-backed brewer, who is in a joint venture with the state, is banking on rising disposable income and a youthful population to boost growth. Its signature product, Beerlao, probably matters more to its home country than any other beer in the world.
Asia/Australia
India | India’s food safety regulator (FSSAI) warned Diageo that it misleadingly claimed that one of its top-selling whiskies was “matured in American oak casks”, when most of the product had not been matured. The FSSAI previously asserted that some of its products contained improper flavouring, such as whisky and rum flavours rather than proper ageing and ingredients. Authorities then banned the sales of Diageo’s Royal Challenge Whisky made in the state of Madhya Pradesh and some whisky and rum brands made in other Indian states.
Asia/Australia
Australia | The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) blocked MicroStar Logistics’ proposed acquisition of Konvoy's assets, finding the deal would likely substantially reduce competition in Australia's keg pooling market, the website The Shout reported on 7 August.
Asia/Australia
Australia | Excise tax on spirits in Australia climbed to AUD 110.15 (USD 77.50) per litre of pure alcohol after the country’s latest 2 percent inflation hike on 3 August. Australians now pay AUD 30.84 (USD 22) in excise on a 700 ml bottle of a 40 percent ABV spirit – twice the New Zealand rate and more than six times the US rate. On top of excise, Australians also pay GST on booze – a flat 10 percent tax which applies to the final retail price of the product.
Asia/Australia
Vietnam | Heineken boasted that in the first half of 2026 the Vietnam beer market grew 6 percent. That is a good sign because in previous years beer consumption tended downwards. However, the industry's consumption outlook remains cautious as the first-half momentum benefited from a strong festive season, while inflationary pressures, rising costs of living and not least the government’s clampdown on alcohol make consumers reluctant to part with their cash.
Asia/Australia
New Zealand | French multinational Malteurop will close its New Zealand malt plant in Marton at the end of September, the beer blogger Michel Donaldson revealed on 17 July. New Zealand’s beer market has been declining and the plant seems to have reached the end of its life.
Asia/Australia
India | Karnataka became India's first state to adopt an Alcohol-in-Beverage (elsewhere known as ABV) excise duty structure. Before, alcohol was taxed on a bulk litre-based system. The new policy, effective since 11 May, deregulates strict government-controlled prices. Brewers and alcohol producers now set prices based on market factors and alcohol content within eight price slabs.
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BRAUWELT on tour
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BRAUWELT on tour
