Philippine San Miguel Corp. announced that it will close its brewery in Hong Kong in September due to high production and operating costs.

A surge in imported wine is expected to help meet a shortage at the cheaper end of the Australian market, following this year’s small wine-grape harvest.

Ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages (RTDs) have revolutionised alcohol sales in Australia and it is no secret that bourbon RTDs have been a major driver of the success of RTDs in the past five years.

With a population of 82 million and a burgeoning economy, Vietnam has been one of the brewing industry’s “last frontiers”. Vietnam’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) could make foreign investments easier. However, all the “usual suspects” of the global brewing industry already seem to have a foot or two in the door.

Ah, the promiscuity of brewers. In Australia and New Zealand’s beer duopoly, global brewers don’t seem to mind to be involved in twosomes and threesomes with their competition. Carlsberg is the latest case in point.

InBev announces a long-term joint venture agreement with the local Pepsi bottler, the RKJ group.

Coca-Cola Amatil has announced plans to become the number three player in the Australian beer market by 2012.

Drinks company Independent Liquor has a new CEO in Doug McKay, following the December 2006 sale of the company to two private equity firms, CCMP and Pacific Equity Partners, for NZD 1.3 billion (EUR 706 million).

Lion Nathan told the market in March that it had received three expressions of interest in the sale of its Newmarket (Auckland) brewery site and was currently reviewing if it should sell the brewery and how much the relocation and construction of a brewery on a new site in Auckland would cost.

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. said it will build a brewery in Foshan, southern China, to help reach its goal of doubling the distribution of Budweiser in China over the next five years.