Taiwan Beer (台啤) will be sold in China from May, media reported yesterday.
The Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TTLC, 台酒公司) said China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce had registered its Taiwan Beer trademark and announced it on its Web site, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported.
“Taiwan Beer will be allowed to go on sale in China from May 6,” the report said.
The beer is expected to generate between NT$2.6 billion and NT$3 billion (US$77 million to US$88.9 million) in revenue in China this year, equivalent to a 1 percent share of China’s beer market, TTLC chairman Duan Wei (韋伯韜) said.
Initially, the company planned to target only Fujian and Guangdong provinces as the customers there have similar tastes to the Taiwanese, he said.
Taiwan Beer is likely to sell at 6 yuan (US$0.88) to 10 yuan a bottle, compared with 5 yuan to 6 yuan for Chinese brands, he said.
The company has sought to register the 63-year-old Taiwan Beer trademark in China since 1999, but the process had been stalled amid tensions.
Separately, Kinmen Distillery plans to build a Chinese headquarters in Xiamen at a cost of US$18 million as part of efforts to tap into China’s wine market, the Economic Daily News reported.
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