The report suggests that the company has overtaken leading brand Tsingtao in the world's biggest beer market.

In the 12 months to June 2006, CR Snow sold over 45 million hectolitres of beer, of which the Snow brand accounted for 21 million hectoliters, said SABMiller in a statement. And in the first six months of calendar year 2006 the business had a market share of some 15 per cent ahead of its nearest competitor, Tsingtao.

The company claims that Snow, one of its top ten brands, is now China's largest but analysts pointed out that volumes are not always linked to brand equity in China's still highly regional market.

"Quantity is not everything," said KGI Securities analyst Adam Zhou. "Compared with last year, Snow's sales in the first six months have only grown by 5 per cent".

While Snow has achieved significant presence in Beijing and the northeast of China, Japan's Suntory still holds more than one-third of the lucrative Shanghai market, with CR Snow only at the beginning of its efforts to tap the city's beer drinkers.

Its recent purchase of the Yinyan Brewery in Zheijiang province is expected to give it access to a number of major east-coast cities including Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Ningbo.

But it still only holds 13 per cent of the country's total beer market.

Tsingtao still has a leading share in central China, while Zhujiang is dominant in the south, especially Guangdong province.

Between 1998 and 2006 the Chinese market grew at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 8 per cent, to become the world's largest beer market with volumes of approximately 300 million hectolitres in 2005.

Additional reporting by Pan Yan.