Hong Kong: Kingway says still no progress in Heineken stake talks

Kingway Brewery Holdings Ltd. announced on May 26 there has been no progress so far in discussions with Dutch giant Heineken N.V., which is eyeing a bigger stake in the fast-growing Chinese beer maker.

Heineken's joint venture with Singapore's Asia-Pacific Breweries Ltd. and Kingway have said they are in preliminary talks for the Dutch brewer to lift its stake in the Chinese firm from the current 21.44 %.

Kingway Brewery, which has a leading market position in the affluent southern province of Guangdong, said in a statement that it was informed by its controlling shareholder and Heineken-APB China Pte Ltd., which holds the 21.44 % stake, that "there has been no progress" since a previous announcement in late April.

Heineken is competing with global rivals such as Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller to expand its share of China's fast-consolidating beer market, the world's largest by volume. Early last year, the Dutch brewer paid HK$1.85 per share for its stake in Kingway.

Shares in Kingway, previously known as Guangdong Brewery, were unchanged at HK$2.675 shortly after market opened on Thursday. The stock has fallen more than 6 percent in the month to Wednesday's close and 9 percent in the past three months.

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