The acquisition represents a further strengthening of Heineken's position in fast growing beer markets in a move. 'The enlarged position in Kazakhstan will make a further development of the brewery possible and create a platform for growth of the Heineken brand, imported from Russia,' the company said in a statement.
Heineken acquired its initial 28 per cent stake in 1999, the year in which the Dinal brewery commenced production, and raised its stake to a controlling stake of 51 per cent in 2002. The company says that this latest increase in its share of Dinal has been financed entirely out of company funds.
Dinal LLP has a market share of 8.8 per cent with the local brand Tian Shan and the international brand Amstel. It is the number 4 brewery in the country and employs 200 people at the facility. The sales capacity of the brewery is 300,000 hectolitres and the estimated sales volume for 2004 is 225,000 hectolitres. In 2003 the net turnover amounted to €7 million.
Kazakhstan has extensive oil deposits and other natural resources. The country, which has a population of 16.7 million, has one of the fastest growing economies amongst the former Russian countries and a growing beer market. Indeed the total beer market is.
According to figures from Scottish and Newcastle, the local beer market in Kazakhstan had a total volume of about 300 million hectolitres in 2003. This means that annual average beer consumption is 20 litres per head, around a quarter of the average western European consumption levels.
Currently the largest player in the market is Baltika brewery, the Carlberg/Scottish and Newcastle venture that is also the largest player in the huge Russian market.