Anheuser-Busch InBev NV is weighing an initial public offering (IPO) of its Asian unit as the world’s largest brewer jockeys for position in a massive consumer market where rivals are piling in via local alliances.
The brewer yesterday confirmed that it might sell a minority stake in its Asia-Pacific operations — a deal that could value the business at as much as US$70 billion — and list the shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The move would help AB InBev reduce its debt and pursue acquisition opportunities in a region that is driving growth for an otherwise slow-growing business.
Photo: Reuters
“The merits are really connected to creating a local champion in the consumer space,” chief financial officer Felipe Dutra said by telephone. “It’s a good platform for potential consolidation, and if we decide to proceed with the listing, we’ll get to our deleveraging target faster.”
AB InBev also recorded its fastest earnings growth in five quarters, joining brewers, such as Heineken NV, that have reported a strong start to the year.
The maker of Budweiser is coming under pressure to reduce its leverage, which has piled up since it acquired SABMiller in 2016 for more than US$100 billion.
AB InBev might seek to value the entire Asian business at US$40 billion to US$70 billion through the share sale, though the eventual figure would depend on market demand and growth prospects, Bloomberg reported in January, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The share sale could raise more than US$5 billion, they said at the time.
The IPO could give AB InBev more strategic flexibility to seek local partners. AB InBev’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 8.2 percent in the first quarter, beating a company-compiled consensus.
Big brewers are on a more stable footing after years of ceding market share to craft and local beers.
The company maintained its forecast for robust growth this year based on demand for premium brands in developing countries.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
TRANSFORMATION: Taiwan is now home to the largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, thanks to the nation’s economic policies President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday attended an event marking the opening of Google’s second hardware research and development (R&D) office in Taiwan, which was held at New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋). This signals Taiwan’s transformation into the world’s largest Google hardware research and development center outside of the US, validating the nation’s economic policy in the past eight years, she said. The “five plus two” innovative industries policy, “six core strategic industries” initiative and infrastructure projects have grown the national industry and established resilient supply chains that withstood the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said. Taiwan has improved investment conditions of the domestic economy
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day