Portuguese brewer to expand presence in China

Rui Lopes Ferreira, chief executive officer of the Portuguese beer brand Super Bock, recently visited Xiamen, Fujian province to seek further cooperation with the city.

"Super Bock has high hopes for the Chinese market," Ferreira said in a meeting with Han Jingyi, deputy mayor of Xiamen, on Nov 22. "We expect to expand our businesses in China."

Ferreira revealed that, after considering Xiamen Municipal Government's support and the convenient customs clearance in the city, Super Bock plans to establish a branch or production line in Xiamen.

Han briefed him on Xiamen's basic economic and social development and hopes the Portuguese company will set up a headquarters in China to improve its influence in the Asian country.

Both sides also discussed Super Bock's participation in Xiamen's public welfare establishments, sponsorship of cultural, art and sports events, as well as Portuguese teaching in the city.

Established in 1927, Super Bock maintains a leading position in Portugal's beer market and is also the best-selling Portuguese beer in the world.

Since 2009, the brewer has exported beer to China from the import port Haicang in Xiamen. Starting from 2015, more than 10.4 million boxes of Super Bock beer have been imported into China from Haicang and it is expected that in 2019, 5.2 million will be exported to China.