Source: ChinaRetail

Asahi Breweries and Marubeni Corp will jointly establish a joint venture with a Chinese enterprise to manufacture and sell wines. This is the first time for the Japanese food industry giants to enter China's wine sector.

The newly established joint venture, Jiangsu Shengguo Wine Company is located in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, with a registered capital of JPY1.38 billion, among which Jiangsu Fuhao Wine Company composes of 40% while Asahi and Marubeni, each have 30%. The chairman of the company will be appointed by Fuhao Wine Company.

The construction of the new factory is planned to be started in March and completed in August. The factory is expected to manufacture 5,000,000 liters of wine per year and it can scale up manufacturing in accordance to different demand and needs.

The new factory will reportedly use grape juice imported by Marubeni from South America, adopt the brewery technologies and marketing skills of Asahi and take advantage of distribution network of Fuhao Company. With regards to sale, the company will first open the market of Jiangsu and then expand its business to Shanghai and Zhejiang.