Russia: InBev's Russian joint venture Sun Interbrew said that a new Russian law prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in some public places would have "some effect" on profits in the beer industry, according to AFX News. "(This law) will have some effect, but it is difficult to say how much," said Sun Interbrew senior vice-president and head of corporate affairs, Irina Kibina. "It will definitely be a big problem for (smaller) regional producers, but it will not affect multinationals who have an understanding (to deal with the problem)," she said.

Kibina said the law would "affect everybody" in the industry, but that it would hurt the leading players in the Russian beer market -- such as Sun Interbrew and Baltika Brewery, owned by Carlsberg AS and the UK's Scottish & Newcastle PLC -- "the least."

Russia's upper house approved the law, with a majority of 134-2 and two abstentions, to pass the law banning beer drinking in public places, such as parks, sport events and on public transport. The law was reworked after senators had initially rejected it in November.

InBev is currently appealing an antitrust complaint concerning its bid to increase its stake in Sun Interbrew -- after announcing in August that it plans to increase its share of voting rights in the brewer to 75 pct via a share swap deal worth EUR 530 million with the other controlling shareholder Sun Trade.

The brewer sells through its Sun Interbrew joint venture its Belgian brand Stella Artois and Russian brands Tolstiak, Klinskoye and Sibirskaya Korona. Sun Interbrew is the second largest brewer in Russia, after Baltika Brewery, and the market leader in Ukraine.

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