AB InBev Confirms February Opening for First Brewery in Vietnam

Anheuser-Busch InBev seems to get bigger every day, and it’s not slowing down. Last year the brewing giant announced plans to start building its first brewing facility in Vietnam. This week, AB InBev discussed progress on the plant and confirmed February 2015 for its opening date.

As AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito explained to the media back in April, Vietnam is a very attractive market to expand outward into now that the company has gained a strong foothold in neighboring China. Furthermore, at this point expanding into Vietnam is just keeping up with the competition – SABMiller, Carlsberg Group, and Hieneken all have heavy presences in Vietnam with joint ventures and production facilities from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. Surprisingly for a company with such unparalleled global reach already, AB InBev be the last of the brewing industry’s Big Four to set up manufacturing operations in Vietnam.

But while AB InBev may have taken  time getting there, it is certainly on its way now. Just Drinks reports that AB InBev’s new Vietnam facility, which will concentrate the majority of its energy on producing Budweiser at least at first, will open in February by the start of the Lunar New Year:

It’s a slight setback, as the company had originally planned to launch the facility before the end of 2014, but all things considered a few months is only a minor setback. Once operational, the plant will help AB InBev grow its brand where it needs to in emerging markets.

[SOURCE: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/24/abinbev-vietnam-idUSL6N0DB40A20130424; http://www.just-drinks.com/news/anheuser-busch-inbev-confirms-february-opening-for-brewery_id114510.aspx]