The Henry Taxation Review, which represented no less than a complete examination of Australia’s tax system, recommended an introduction of volumetric excise for all alcoholic beverages, which would have hit the Australian wine industry hard: it would have forced the cost of four- or five-litre cask wine to triple, while trendy two-litre boxes would have more than doubled in price, according to wine industry forecasts.

U.S officials say the Philippine tax system - imposing duties 10 to 40 times higher on spirits not distilled from materials produced in the Philippines - means that U.S. imports have failed to gain more than 5 percent of the USD 3 billion Philippine spirits market.

Local-government-owned Chongqing Beer Group, which holds 32.25 percent of the Shanghai-listed brewer, wants to sell 59.29 million shares in the unit as part of a national government plan to shed listed assets, according to news agency reports. The stake is worth USD 274 million, based on current prices, it was reported.

Foster’s biggest brand, VB, is still the largest beer in Australia, by some margin, on both a volume and value basis (15.1 percent and 14.7 percent market share respectively).

The appointment comes as CCA and SABMiller prepare to open their new 500,000 hl Bluetongue brewery in New South Wales at a cost of up to AUD 200 million (EUR 140 million), which is expected to be running by late May or early June this year.

“We have had an initial contact with AB-InBev, at which we talked about possibilities,” Carlsberg’s spokesman Jens Bekke was quoted as saying. He added, however, that there are no concrete plans.

Constellation Brands has broken off talks to combine part of its Australian and British wine operations with Australian Vintage (AVL).

At an annual shareholders meeting, shareholders also elected all ten candidates proposed by Sapporo, the company said.

The move is aimed at putting pressure on Sapporo’s management to revamp its strategy for the group, which has struggled to remain competitive in Japan’s declining beer market. The hedge fund claims that the current board has failed to implement an effective strategy to address Sapporo’s poor profitability.

Currently, China has a per capita beer consumption figure of 32 litres. Brazilians drink 57 litres of beer per capita, Russians 81 litres and Indians 1 litre. To what extent this figures will rise in years to come depends to a large extent on the demographic change in these countries’ working-age populations.