Heineken re-enters Burmese market with new brewery

Brewing group Heineken is re-entering the Burmese beer market with the opening of a new brewery in the country now known as Myanmar.

The brewery, which cost €54m and is situated near Myanmar’s biggest city of Rangoon, employs 200 people and will produce 330,000 hectolitres of beer a year, the Volkskrant reports.

Heineken is running the brewery in partnership with local company Alliance Brewery Co Ltd (ABC) and has a 57% interest in the joint venture.

The Dutch brewer was last in Myanmar in 1996 when the country was ruled by a military junta. Its presence there led to calls for a boycot of Heineken beer in countries such as the US, one of its most important markets. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi named Heineken in her repeated calls for foreign companies to stay out of the country.

The political situation has improved since the 49-year military dictatorship ended in 2011, and with a population of 51 million Myanmar is now an attractive proposition for western companies.