New Delhi, Sept. 22 - Danish brewer Carlsberg launched its beer brand in the Indian capital on Saturday and said it was open to acquisitions and joint ventures for sales growth in Asia.
"Yes, we are going to grow in Asia organically and by acquiring," said Jorn Jensen, the firm's chief financial officer.
"We are constantly looking at our options for acquisitions, joint ventures," he said, replying to a query on growth plans in the region.
An Indian newspaper reported this month that Carlsberg's South Asia Breweries unit would buy a stake in Kolkata-based Parag Breweries as well as its holding entity, Agnes Impex, and the two would subsequently be merged.
Carlsberg officials declined to confirm the report.
"We will, towards the end of the year, start expanding to key metros in the country," said Joakim Sande, marketing director of South Asia Breweries.
Carlsberg has started operations with a brewery in the northern hill state of Himachal Pradesh, which has an annual capacity of 150,000 hectolitres.
By early next year, it plans to start two more greenfield units, one located in the northwestern state of Rajasthan and another in the western state of Maharashtra, each with 500,000 hectolitres annual capacity.
Carlsberg said it expected annual beer consumption in India to grow by more than 140 percent by 2010.
It said the per capita intake would grow to five to six litres a year over the next few years from current levels of about a litre because of rising incomes in a fast growing economic.
Jesper Madsen, senior vice president of Carlsberg Asia, said that he expected beer consumption in Asia to grow to 571 million hectolitres by 2010 from 466 million.
"We believe growth in the future will come from Asia," he said. The company has 26 breweries in the region, six of which are in China.
Madsen added India would become the second-largest beer market in Asia by drawing alongside or overtaking Japan by 2020.
"India is a market of huge strategic importance and we are committed to continue investing in this country," said Madsen.