Fosun invests in Tsingtao Brewery with eye on middle-class market

Shanghai

FOSUN International's investment in Tsingtao Brewery is the latest step in the conglomerate's strategy of catering to China's rising middle-class families while also satisfying the government's push for greater local investments.

Shanghai-based Fosun is paying US$847 million to acquire an 18 per cent stake in China's third-largest brewer from Asahi Group Holdings. In the short run, Fosun can help widen Tsingtao's distribution network in more than 70 Club Med resorts worldwide. In the long run, Fosun's track record in restructuring state-owned companies could help Tsingtao optimise efficiency, according to analysts at China International Capital Corp.