Japan | A beer which actually reduces your beer belly could be the Next Big Thing. In October 2019, Kirin launched Kirin Karada Free, a functional “beer-taste beverage” in corporate speak, which doesn’t have any alcohol.

Australia | Nearly 30 years after leaving the brewery he founded, Phil Sexton is re-opening Matilda Bay as a boutique brewery in Healesville, near Melbourne, in partnership with Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), now owned by Asahi.

Belgium | Second time lucky? AB-InBev has priced the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of 1,262,350,000 shares of a minority stake of its Asia Pacific subsidiary, Budweiser Brewing Company APAC, at HKD 27 (USD 3.44) per share, media reported on 24 September 2019.

South Korea | Imports of Japanese beers have slumped to almost zero in August, after consumers have taken to shun Japanese products – a boycott which was sparked by a bitter dispute between Seoul and Tokyo.

Australia | Is CUB back into wine? The country’s major brewer has acquired Adelaide-based Riot Wine, and says it has ambitions for the company’s sales. Established in 2016, Riot currently produces about 500 hl wine per year, but CUB wants to lift that to more than 25,000 hl within five years.

Singapore | Consumers in Southeast Asia will soon be able to grab their Heineken drinks via the Grab app. On 17 September 2019 the Dutch brewer signed a partnership with Singapore-based “super app” Grab to bring its products on the latter’s platform.

Australia | Japan’s Asahi is going the whole hog and has swooped on the award-winning Queensland craft brewer Green Beacon, only four weeks after it acquired market leader Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) from AB-InBev.

China | CR Beer has made an aggressive overture to AB-InBev by officially declaring that it is “weighing the possibility” of acquiring a minority stake in AB-InBev’s Asia unit. CR Beer’s CEO Jason Hou said on 16 August 2019 that a final decision has yet to be taken.

Vietnam | In an effort to curb rising medical costs and drunken driving, Vietnam will ban alcohol advertising on radio and TV from 6 pm to 9 pm, as well as before and after children’s programmes. The new law takes effect in January 2020.

Vietnam | With a population of nearly 100 million people and beer accounting for 95 percent of alcohol consumption, the southeast Asian country has become an alluring market for brewers.