F&N returns to Myanmar market with Emerald Brewery

CONSUMER group Fraser and Neave (F&N) has commenced operations of Emerald Brewery Myanmar, marking its return to the Myanmar beer market.

Emerald Brewery, a joint-venture between F&N and local partners, has established a greenfield brewery located in Hlegu Township in Yangon, to brew Chang Lager Beer. F&N previously exited the market when it sold a 55 per cent stake in Myanmar Brewery for US$560 million in 2015.

F&N's capital investment of US$70 million has been deployed towards building the modern brewery, which will deliver an annual beer production capacity of 500,000 hectolitres, to grow logistics including sales and distribution operations, as well as drive marketing and people capabilities. The brewery will be able to facilitate a boost in production capacity in the coming years, as F&N sees "huge market potential" in the country. 

Koh Poh Tiong, chairman of the F&N Board executive committee, said: "We are pleased to re-establish F&N's presence in Myanmar's beer market and our investment reflects the great potential we see in this fast-growing market. We have worked swiftly to build our new brewery, operations and business and are confident that our two decades' experience in Myanmar will propel our new venture forward."

More than 170 full-time employees were hired to drive the company's operations. Meanwhile, ahead of the launch, Emerald Brewery assigned 80 team members to receive intensive training over a one-month period from the Chang Beer team in Bangkok. This was followed by additional training programmes in Yangon focusing on areas such as the brewing process, quality checks, and safety.