Interbrew, the world's third largest brewer known for its flagship brands such as Stella Artois and Beck's, said it may increase its stake in the profitable Chinese brewer in the future.

Although Interbrew is already present in the Chinese market, the company has been expanding into Asia's emerging markets as western European markets become saturated.

The Belgian brewer is buying the stake from the Chinese government as part of the privatization of Zhujiang. It would back Zhujiang's initial public offering, which is scheduled for 2003, because Chinese companies need to have promoters for a stockmarket listing, Interbrew said.

Major competitors like Dutch Heineken and South African Breweries have also been moving in on the Chinese market. Interbrew entered the Chinese market in 1997 when it acquired an 80 percent stake in China's Nanjing brewery. Analysts believed Interbrew's purchase would bring long-term benefits because of thesize of the Chinese market and expectations of strong growth.

(People's Daily July 11, 2002)