Sapporo Breweries to Tie Up with Denmark’s Carlsberg

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Sapporo Breweries Ltd. said Monday that it will form a capital and business tie-up with major Danish beer maker Carlsberg Breweries A/S. The two companies plan to establish a joint venture in Singapore. Sapporo will invest about 643 million dollars in the new firm to snap up a 25 pct stake. Through the joint venture, the major Japanese brewer aims to boost its beer sales in fast-growing Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, whose beer markets are expected to grow at an annual pace of about 5 pct. At a press conference in Tokyo, Sapporo President Hiroshi Tokimatsu called the tie-up “a strategic option to realize business growth more speedily and efficiently.” The Japanese company’s target is to boost sales of products from its Sapporo Premium Beer brand, exclusive for overseas markets, by 10-fold in volume from the 2025 level by 2035 by leveraging Carlsberg’s sales network. Last December, Sapporo decided to sell its real estate business, including its Yebisu Garden Place commercial complex in central Tokyo. The company plans to use 300 billion to 400 billion yen out of the estimated 477-billion-yen profit from the sale for growth investment, such as business acquisitions, to concentrate its management resources on its mainstay beer and other alcoholic beverage operations. With the Japanese market shrinking due to the country’s declining population, Sapporo is eager to expand its overseas operations. Sapporo and Carlsberg have been in a partnership since 2024 for the sale of Sapporo Premium Beer products in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. The latest tie-up will expand the area of cooperation to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]