BEIJING — A potential prize for AB InBev in its bid for SABMiller is a Chinese beer that is the world’s biggest seller. But any deal will face Chinese regulators who have barred the two brewing giants in the past from cooperating.
China already drinks one-quarter of the world’s beer and is the focus of intense foreign interest because even with its economy cooling, demand is growing while Western markets are flat or declining.
SABMiller has a leading position with a 49 percent stake in Snow, a joint venture with a state-owned partner that sold 3 billion gallons of suds last year, or more than one out of every 20 glasses drunk worldwide.
That could dramatically expand InBev’s Chinese footprint, which already includes Budweiser, Beck’s and Stella Artois.
“No one outside China knows what Snow is, but it is the biggest brand in the world,” said industry analyst Spiros Malandrakis of Euromonitor.
Total Chinese beer sales are expected to rise 2.6 percent this year to 13.6 billion gallons, or more than double the global forecast of 1 percent growth, according to Euromonitor.
Competition in China’s crowded beer market is intense, which keeps prices low and profits slim.
Despite that, global brewers are buying or launching mass-market brands. Some hope to attract Chinese drinkers who might trade up to more expensive versions as incomes rise.
In China since 1984, InBev’s Anheuser-Busch unit, the brewer of Budweiser, has 39 beverage plants and 26,000 employees.
SABMiller launched Snow with China Resources Enterprise Ltd. in 1994.
