San Miguel revives plan to put up $100-million US brewery

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) has revived its plan to put up its first brewery in the US, allotting an investment of $100 million within the year, its top official said.

SMB chairman Ramon Ang said the company is in the final stage of checking the license and tax environment in the US.

“What are the taxes, is there an incentive for taxes, are there transfer taxes and distribution taxes? We need to understand all of that before we jump to put up a brewery,” he said.

Once all of these are ironed out, SMB can start building a brewery in the US, he added.

“(We can start construction)as soon as we get the final numbers on the viability,” Ang said.

The US is already a huge export market for the company and putting up a brewery there will translate to cost savings.

“The US is a big export market for us. It’s better for us to put up a plant there to save on freight and hauling,” Ang said.

The company first announced plans to put up a brewery in the US last year. At that time, Ang said he was heading to the US to finalize the purchase of a 10-hectare site in Los Angeles where the planned two million-hectoliter brewery would rise.

SMB’s international facilities are currently located in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Meanwhile, SMB is also looking at opportunities to expand in other ASEAN countries given favorable results from  its Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia operations.

“We are looking at ASEAN expansion. We are looking at options,” Ang said.

Locally, the company is undertaking a capacity expansion program to improve and save on logistics.

“We are looking at several location to save on logistics. This is part of our cost cutting measures. We’re trying to cut costs so you can spend the money you save on advertising on TV, multimedia, and other marketing initiatives,” Ang said.

The company recently broke ground for a new brewery in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, the company’s sixth in the country. It is also planning to construct more breweries in key locations across the country.