Snow builds brewery in Shanghai

Shanghai, the business capital of China’s mainland, is an important beer market. As early as 1997 five international joint venture breweries were operating there. Not all proved successful. Eventually, Carlsberg had to sell its brewery to Tsingtao and Foster’s its plant to Suntory.

Given China’s rising demand for beer, Snow has decided that it is best to have a production base in the city. Once it is completed it will probably be the largest brewery in Shanghai.

Jointly owned by the Hong Kong-listed China Resources Enterprise and SABMiller, China Resources Snow Breweries has more than 60 breweries across China. In 2007, the company sold over 70 million hl of beer in China.

Caption (below): Snow is the world’s number two beer brand according to Impact data. In 2007, 48 million hl of Snow were sold – topped only by Bud Light which sold 50 million hl. Photo: One Red Eye/Philip Meech