BEIJING - Tsingtao Brewery Co, China's largest beer maker, has signed an agreement to buy the Chinese stake in Hunan Debier Brewery Co, a Sino-Malaysian joint venture, officials said today.

Tsingtao will pay 108 million yuan (RM49 million) to Changsha Brewery, located in central Hunan province, for its 45 percent share in the company, they said.

The other 55 percent in Hunan Debier Brewery Co is held by Lion Group, a Malaysian steel and auto conglomerate with interests in agribusiness and altogether 11 joint venture brewery plants in China.

National strategy

The deal over Debier Brewery - the largest beer plant in Hunan province with annual output of about 180,000 tonnes - comes amid signs of consolidation in China's widely dispersed beer industry.

Tsingtao Brewery, which accounts for 12 percent of China's domestic market and 80 percent of the country's beer exports, said the acquisition was part of a national expansion strategy.

Last month, Beijing Yanjing Brewery, China's number two beer producer, signed an agreement to buy a 38.15 percent stake in Huiquan Brewage Group Inc Fujian China. - AFP