SABMiller to invest USD 2.5bn in Africa in 5 years.

By bne IntelliNews April 18, 2012
SABMiller, the worlds second-biggest brewer, plans to invest up to USD 2.5bn in Africa over the next five years to build new and upgrade existing breweries, in a bid to satisfy growing demand for beer on the continent, Business Day reported. "We are still looking at around USD 400 to USD 500m a year for the next three to five years," SABMillers managing director for Africa, Mark Bowman, was quoted as telling the Reuters Africa Investment Summit. He added that there was an attractive growth in markets outside South Africa, so the company would need to invest in order to be ahead of demand. The brewer, which is listed in London and Johannesburg, intends to build two to three breweries a year across the continent, where some breweries are running at or near full capacity. The average annual beer consumption in Africa stands at some 8l per person, which is well below the about 70l in North America and Europe, suggesting that few Africans can afford the beverage, which is seen as a status symbol. "Commercial beer signifies reaching some sort of level of status as opposed to drinking a home-brewed beer like chibuku," said Bowman. According to Bowman, with affordable prices, commercial beer consumption per capita could reach as much as 30l over the next 15 to 20 years in most of the African markets (outside South Africa). SabMiller plans to boost its production of affordable beer by using local ingredients such as cassava and sorghum, instead of the more expensive barley.
Read in IntelliNews Pro
Get IntelliNews Pro

Related Articles

South Africas Exxaro mulls firing striking coal miners.

South African company Exxaro Resources said one of the options it currently considers is dismissing striking coal mine workers who fail to return to work in the week of March 25, fin24 reported ... more

South Africas Telkom says there is no decision to lay off 13,000 employees.

South Africas telecommunication operator Telkom said that it has not made a decision on retrenching 13,000 employees, or more than half of its staff, TechCentral reported quoting a company ... more

BP, Masana Petroleum Solutions sell LPG business in South Africa.

Oryx Energies, a major independent provider of oil and gas products and services in Africa, has agreed to buy the South African liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution businesses of BP and ... more

Follow Us On

Most Read

  1. Ukraine's birth rate plummets to 300-year low as country’s population collapses
    7 days ago
  2. EU finally boosts defence investment into arms production as Ukraine runs out of ammo
    1 month ago
  3. Fresh evidence suggests that the April 2022 Istanbul peace deal to end the war in Ukraine was stillborn
    7 days ago
  4. Don't mention the "D" word - Ukraine
    4 days ago
  5. UBN: The US Needs to Wake Up
    5 days ago
  1. Russia could pay off its entire external debt tomorrow, in cash
    25 days ago
  2. Speculation swirls of “Men in Blue” in Crocus City Hall terrorist attack linked to FSB
    29 days ago
  3. Albanians campaign on social media to keep bus bridge created in freak accident
    1 year ago
  4. BRICS announce a blockchain-based payment system to create a common currency
    28 days ago
  5. Saudi Arabia to scale back plans for Neom city
    15 days ago

Reports

Dismiss