Nepal: United Breweries to reopen brewery in Hetauda

United Breweries Nepal (UBN), the makers of Kingfisher and Gold Star beer with a market share of over 40 percent, is expected to reopen its factory in Hetauda in central Nepal Friday after being forced to close down in November, IANS reported April 5.

Maoists joining the Nepal government have meant a reprieve for Indian liquor baron Vijay Mallya's Nepal venture United Breweries that is readying to reopen after remaining closed for nearly five months.

UBN officials said they were compelled to close the factory after threats from the Maoists for resisting their demand for 'donations'.

Though the communists had signed a peace pact with the then seven-party government and agreed not to extort or intimidate business houses, they still asked UBN for an astronomically large sum of money, officials said. 'There were earlier demands for money too,' an official said on the condition of anonymity. 'But the last demand was for a huge sum of money.'

With the Maoists' powerful trade union flexing its muscles in Nepal's industrial sector and the government remaining a silent spectator, the company closed the factory in November, the peak time for the consumption of beer. The five-month loss has cost the company millions.

The Hetauda factory manufactures 2,500 cases of beer per day, each case containing 12 bottles.

As part of the new image makeover, local Maoist leaders in Hetauda have reached an undisclosed agreement with UBN, which was established in Nepal 41 years ago.

Even if the factory reopens Friday, it will be another 10-15 days before it starts production in full swing.

UBN had earlier hit the headlines when a local daily reported that during the last week of King Gyanendra's regime, senior government officials had signed an approval allowing the company to collect a customs refund.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .