The Danish brewing group, Carlsberg Breweries, has announced that its Asian joint venture, Carlsberg Asia Pte Ltd. had acquired the entire share capital of the Chinese brewery Dali Beer (Group) Limited Company and of the Yunnan Dali Beer Joint Stock Company. The acquisition is subject to approval by Chinese authorities. The brewery is situated in Dali city in the Yunnan province in the south western part of China. Dali city has a population of around 3 million.

The Dali brewery is the largest brewery in Yunnan. It has a capacity of 1.2 million hl beer, approx. 750 employees and a 41% market share in the province. Its most important beer brand is Dali Canger.

The Kunming brewery also situated in the Yunnan province was acquired in January 2003, and the two breweries' total market share of the province is above 50%. The Yunnan province has a population of 43 million with a yearly per capita beer consumption of only 4.2 litres. This provides great potential for growth in view of the fact that the average per capita beer consumption in China is 18 litres.

The Chinese beer market totals approx. 235 million hl and is dominated by local brands. The Carlsberg brand is among the leading international beer brands.