AB InBev Is Said to Plan Hong Kong Listing to Cut Debt, Spur APAC Expansion
Zhang Yushuo
DATE:  Feb 14 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
AB InBev Is Said to Plan Hong Kong Listing to Cut Debt, Spur APAC Expansion AB InBev Is Said to Plan Hong Kong Listing to Cut Debt, Spur APAC Expansion

(Yicai Global) Feb. 13 -- Anheuser-Busch InBev is reportedly planning a Hong Kong public offering for its Asia unit as the Belgian beer giant looks to reduce its debt burden and expand in the continent.

AB InBev hopes to raise more than USD5 billion in the listing, Beijing Business Today reported, citing two anonymous Asian bankers who value the firm's Asian business at USD70 billion. Other sources expect the listing to pull in between USD2 billion and USD3 billion, while AB InBev itself has not commented on the matter.

The Leuven-based firm has been trying to reduce its borrowing and separate its high-growth, high-value Asia-Pacific operations to improve cash flow after it paid more than USD100 billion for SABMiller in 2016, the report added. It said in July that it would restructure its APAC operations and consolidate its existing nine regions into six, and in January merged its southern and northern APAC regions.

AB InBev has also been picking up craft beer brands in China over recent years and built a production line in Wuhan in January 2018, helping it chase domestic rivals China Resources Snow Breweries and Tsingtao Breweries. The firm now has a 15.8 percent market share in China, compared to Tsingtao's 17.6 percent and 26 percent for Snow, whose self-named beer is the world's most popular by market share.

AB InBev has also partnered up with local e-commerce platforms Tmall and JD.Com and sports drink maker Energy Monster to tap a broader range of consumer markets.

Editor: James Boynton

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Keywords:   Anheuser-Busch InBev,Brewery,IPO