New Zealand: Push for conscience vote may unleash 'chaos'

Source: Stuff

JOHN HARTEVELT

13/08/2012

     

Pressure is going on National to allow its MPs a conscience vote on liquor law reforms, sparking concerns about "absolute chaos" in Parliament's debating chamber.

Parliament's business committee, which agrees on the order of debates, is tomorrow set to map out the process for the Alcohol Reform Bill to finally progress.

The bill has been stalled for months as the Government tries to clear space on the Order Paper for it to pass the committee stages.

Changes in the bill include splitting the drinking age by restricting alcohol sales at off-licences to 20-year-olds while leaving it at 18 for licensed premises.

The banning of off-licence sales of ready-to-drink beverages with more than 6 per cent alcohol, restricting display of alcohol to "non-prominent" areas in supermarkets and grocery stores, and plans to clamp down on alcohol advertising are also on the table.

National will only allow its MPs a conscience vote on the age of alcohol purchase part of the bill.

But Labour's 34 MPs will be allowed a conscience vote on the whole bill, including amendments put up by its own MPs.

Labour's shadow leader of the House, Trevor Mallard, said National should also give its MPs a free vote on the whole bill.

"If they don't, then a lot of their individual MPs will be put in an awful position vis-a-vis their electorates," Mr Mallard said.

"I think there is a general view that a lot of this [alcohol law reform] stuff is going in the right direction but not far enough."

He admitted conscience votes on liquor laws had been "messy" in the past because late, inconsistent and poorly drafted amendments had been passed. That had made the law "unnecessarily untidy as a result", he said.

But Labour would put up its substantive amendments much earlier this time, he said.

Green MP Kevin Hague said the bill was pathetic and needed to be made tougher, but there was "nothing magical about alcohol" that made it suitable for a conscience vote.

"They [Labour] are aware that quite a number of National Party MPs actually agree with us and agree with the experts on public health that the bill doesn't go nearly far enough on availability and marketing and some of those other areas," Mr Hague said.

"Their hope is probably to try and change National's behaviour so that National also agrees to conscience votes on those things, in which case, maybe there would be the numbers for stronger measures."

It seemed unlikely that National would be swayed to allow a total conscience vote, however.

"Having a sensible sequence of voting on these [amendments] is going to be important to do, otherwise it could be absolute chaos in the House."

Justice Minister Judith Collins, who is leading the bill, said she was concerned that Labour "can't come up with a coherent position" on the bill, which was "going to cause difficulties during the entire voting process".

"I think they're having difficulty getting a party position on anything and they're wanting to inflict that on everyone else."

Sweden: Swedish police warn of deadly liquor

Source: The Local

12 Aug 12

Swedish police have issue a warning to the public after a man died from methanol poisoning after drinking aquavit from a regular labelled bottle.

The 38-year-old Lithuanian man was taken to hospital by friends on Friday and died a day later, according to a report in the local Helsingborgs Dagblad daily.

"It was concluded that he had consumed a large amount of methanol," said Joakim Ekstrand at Helsingborg's police to the newspaper.

The police have opened an investigation into suspected manslaughter.

The bottle, which carried the label of the aquavit brand "Renat brännvin", has been passed on to the police.

It has not yet been clarified how the man, who is of Lithuanian origin, got hold of the bottle and the police have issued a general warning for the public to exercise caution.

Methanol is deadly even when consumed in small quantities.

The Local reported in June about a 28-year-old Swede who died on Indonesian tourist island of Gili Trawangan after drinking the local liquor.

While the sale of alcohol is strictly controlled in Sweden and is sold exclusively by the state-owned monopoly Systembolaget, there is an established black market of imported spirits.

Furthermore the distilling of moonshine, known as "hembränt" in Swedish, is a common problem both in rural and urban areas.

Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi: Thai beer magnet & Heineken rival

Source: NASDAQ

8/10/2012

The life of Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi is like a capitalist fairy tale.

His rags-to-riches story highlights both the entrepreneurial prowess of Thailand ( THD , quote ) and potentially the ability of Asian breweries to compete against larger Western ones.

A Bangkok-born son of a street vendor, through savvy maneuvers and a considerable business acumen, Sirivadhanabhakdi has risen to become one of Thailand's most powerful businessmen.

Sirivadhanabhakdi found success in the brewing industry; His conglomerate, TCC Group, is the owner of Thai Beverage Pcl ( TBVPF , quote ). The company manages such iconic brands as Chang Beer , well known throughout Asia and the world. The Chang brand has risen to prominence throughout the world thanks to effective marketing, such as sponsoring the kits for English football club Everton FC.

In addition to breweries, Sirivadhanabhakdi's TCC Group is heavily involved in real estate. The privately held TCC Land owns and runs commercial centers and hotels both in Thailand and abroad.

However, the company's beverage component remains the firm's bread and butter operation. So it's of little surprise that TCC Group is butting heads with other multinational brewers over an alcohol producer in Singapore.

TCC Group has placed a bid to acquire a $1.6 billion stake in Singapore-based drinks and property group Fraser and Neave . Through its Asia-Pacific Breweries joint venture with Heineken ( HINKY , quote ), the group manages the famed Tiger Beer brand, in addition to some lesser known names like Anchor, DB Bitter, and Tui.

Evidently, the company is attempting to consolidate its share in the booming Southeast Asian market; however, TCC's overtures have irked Fraser and Neave's largest shareholder, Heineken. Perceiving the move as an infringement upon Heineken's investment, the world's third-largest brewer is not impressed.

Whether or not TCC's bid is ultimately successful remains to be seen. However, the group's business wherewithal can be interpreted as a positive harbinger for the future of the Thai economy as a whole. If the country continues to produce entrepreneurs of the caliber of Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thailand will be well-placed to thrive in the 21st century .

Bottoms Up: China's Alcohol Imports Jump 58 Percent

Source: Jing Daily

August 10, 2012  

Country's Alcohol Imports Increased To US$2.4 Billion Last Year

If there's one area of the Chinese market that has continued to do incredibly well regardless of all others, it's high-end imported spirits. With thirst growing throughout the country for cognac, whisky, wine and even craft beer, and an estimated 20 million new drinkers coming of age every year in China, some major producers have defied fears of a significant slowdown in Chinese demand. However, according to new figures, 2011 may be a hard act to follow. As Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Jiang Zengwei said this week at an alcoholic beverage expo in Guizhou province, alcohol imports jumped a massive 58.1 percent over the course of 2011 to US$2.4 billion, with China importing 500,000 kiloliters of alcohol.

Interestingly, the international ambitions of China's wine and spirits manufacturers seem to have made some progress as well, with China exporting US$500,000 worth of their products in 2011, a 51.3 percent increase year-over-year.

According to attendees at the recent Worshipful Company of Distillers debate in London, the fundamentals of China's wine and spirits industry are cause for serious optimism: 1.1 billion people of legal drinking age, a middle class that should number 430 million by 2015, and US$656.1 million worth of spirits imported last year - a number expected to double by 2015, according to Morgan Stanley.

Whether imports this year will beat 2011 is difficult to predict, but recent figures from major spirits producers indicate that they'll be close, at least. Continuing its winning streak in the Greater China market, led by the region's seemingly insatiable demand for high-end cognac, the French spirits group Remy Cointreau beat forecasts in the first quarter of this year, rising 24.4 percent, driven by cognac demand in Asia and the United States. Making up 62 percent of Remy Cointreau's cognac sales, Asia remains the company's top-selling region by far, with China in particular responding well to intensive marketing efforts by the group for its US$2,500 Louis XIII cognac. Also this year, Pernod Ricard said that its Martell cognac brand was growing strong, thanks to Chinese demand. Martell sales grew 28 percent over the last six months of 2011, compared with the year-earlier period, making it one of the company's fastest-growing brands.

Taste for Hard Cider Grows in US

Source: Voice of America

August 10, 2012

More Americans are quenching their thirst with hard cider. In 2011, U.S. sales of the alcoholic beverage made of fermented apple juice were up 20 percent over the previous year, according to the U.S.-based Beer Institute.

There were about 5.6 million cases of hard cider sold in the U.S. in 2011. At the same time, mainstream beer sales are down.

While cider still makes up only a tiny fraction of the U.S. alcohol industry, small producers are sprouting up across the country, and the nation's two largest beer companies have recently entered the cider market.

Hard cider isn't new. In the 1700s and 1800s, it was the drink of choice for early Americans. But as German immigrants brought their beer-making skills to America, cider fell out of favor.

The drink's popularity took another blow in the 1920s, during Prohibition, when alcoholic beverages were banned in the United States.  But today, hard cider is making a comeback.

Bob Caloutti, who sells beer and wine in Rutland, Vermont, carries several brands of hard cider.

It is a small niche market, he says, but sales are growing fast among men and women.

"Oh, I definitely think the potential is there," Caloutti says. "Cider has been around forever and then if you throw in the gluten-free aspect, there're a lot of people who can't have gluten, which is obviously a common factor in beer, so I think cider is here to stay."

The bestselling cider in America is Woodchuck Amber, which has been made in Vermont since 1991. 

"When I started with the company way back when, all we heard was, 'No.'  People didn't know what hard cider was," says Bret Williams, who heads The Vermont Hard Cider Company, which makes Woodchuck and handles three other brands of cider. "Now I'm worried about whether we can keep up with demand and make enough product."

At the Vermont headquarters, Williams walks past bottling equipment that sterilizes, fills, caps and labels nearly 600 bottles of cider per minute. Still, because it's hard to keep up with demand, this summer construction began on a new $24 million headquarters which will more than double the company's output.

"In this economy, to be talking about any growth at all is pretty amazing," says Williams. "The fact that we're growing by over 30 percent annually and we needed an entirely new building is phenomenal, and I pinch myself every day, and that's been going on the last five years."

Woodchuck's popularity has helped spur an explosion of small craft cider producers across the country. Major beer companies do not want to miss out.

MillerCoors recently purchased the Crispin Cider Company of Minnesota, while Anheuser-Busch recently launched Michelob Ultra Light Cider.

"When the major players get involved in a category, we're going to bring a lot of interest to the segment," says Paul Chibe, vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch.

How much major companies will help grow the fledgling cider industry is unclear.  The U.S. cider market is small, less than one percent of the beer industry. That is nothing compared to Britain, where cider makes up more than 15 percent of the beer market.

Chibe says it is unlikely the U.S. cider market will ever grow that large.  Still, he sees tremendous potential.

"When you look at the profiles, you think about consumers' interest in variety," he says. "You see how big the white wine segment is in the U.S. and its broad appeal. There's no reason why cider can't be significantly larger in our market."

That growth is something the Vermont Hard Cider Company is counting on. Despite adding a third shift, the company can hardly keep up with demand.

"The product that you see on the conveyor right here is going to go on that pallet," Williams says. "The fork truck is going to pick it up and it's going to go right on a truck and it's out the door."

Their new expanded bottling facility will help. But Williams already expects to expand again in three-to-four years.

Kingfisher reports loss of 6.51 bln rupees in June qtr

Source: Reuters

By Anurag Kotoky

Sat 11 Aug, 2012

Kingfisher Airlines , which used to be India's second biggest carrier but is now struggling with crushing debt, posted another quarterly loss on Saturday and shed no light on any potential funding lifeline.

Kingfisher, controlled by flamboyant liquor baron Vijay Mallya, is the biggest victim of turbulence in the Indian aviation industry, which has struggled under high state taxes on jet fuel, high airport charges, below-cost fares and an uncertain regulatory environment.

Kingfisher, which has never made a profit since its founding in 2005, lost 6.51 billion rupees in April-June, compared with a loss of 2.64 billion rupees a year earlier.

The fortunes of Kingfisher, saddled with $1.4 billion in debt, hang on its ability to raise funds soon. It needs at least $500 million immediately to keep operating, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation consultancy.

It has long hoped that a government proposal to let foreign carriers take a maximum 49 percent stake in domestic airlines will be made law, providing it a potential lifeline. That proposal is stalled by complicated coalition government politics and there is no clarity on whether or when it will be implemented.

No foreign airline has publicly shown any interest in picking up a stake in Kingfisher.

TOUGH SKIES

State-taxes of up to 30 percent make jet fuel about 50 percent costlier in India than the global average. Fuel constitutes about half of an airline's total costs.

In India, airport charges are also high, and New Delhi airport has been termed the world's costliest by the International Air Transport Association, an industry body that represents more than 80 percent of global air traffic.

To add to those woes, Mallya has failed to pay Kingfisher's pilots or crew for months and has regularly faced employee ire over salaries, leading to cancellations of flights.

According to media, Mallya on Thursday told his employees they were free to quit if they believed the actions they were taking to protest against the non-payment of salary were correct.

Mallya, who is a member of parliament, has said that several local and foreign investors were interested in investing in Kingfisher but no money has materialised.

Indian carriers lost about $2 billion in the financial year that ended in March and are reeling under a combined debt load of $20 billion. Privately held IndiGo was the only airline that made money last year.

However, Kingfisher's woes have proven to be a boon to relatively healthier players like top carrier Jet Airways and No. 2 budget carrier SpiceJet , which posted surprise quarterly profits last week, indicating the worst may be over for them.

United Breweries Q1 2012 net profit surges

Source: DBR

13 August 2012

United Breweries (UBL) has posted net profit of INR986.4m ($17.9m) for the first quarter (Q1) ended 30 June 2012, compared to the net profit of INR710.4m ($12.9m) for the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

The increase in net profit was primarily due to increased sales of its beer brands.

Net sales were INR12258.2m ($223m) against INR9525.4m ($172.6m) for the same period a year ago.

According to the company, the figures for the quarter ended 30 June 2012 are not comparable with that of corresponding periods of previous year mainly due to joining of other breweries with UBL during the previous financial year.

The breweries which joined UBL include Millennium Beer Industries (MBIL), United Millennium Breweries (UMBL), UB Nizam Breweries (UBNB), Chennai Breweries (CBPL) and UB Ajanta Breweries (UBA).

The company's strong beer brands reported a growth of 23%, while the mild beer volumes decreased by 9% in line with the market.