GS Holdings acquires rights to distribute Corona, Budweiser beers in Singapore
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Corona and Budweiser brands were the first- and second-ranked beer brands in Kantar’s BrandZ 2025 Most Valuable Global Brands report.
PHOTO: AFP
SINGAPORE – Corona and Budweiser beers will be exclusively distributed in Singapore by GS Holdings, except in duty-free shops.
GS Holdings on Sept 8 said its wholly owned subsidiary, Octopus Distribution Networks (ODN), has signed a deal to buy LHA Food & Beverages’ distribution business for about $3 million in cash.
ODN will also acquire the rights to distribute 11 Degree Premium Yanjing Beer in Singapore and the trademarks of Rossl Bier and Como Bere.
The $3 million figure comprises a book value of $1.47 million of inventories and $1.55 million for the rest of the distribution business. LHA will also transfer existing customers, relevant contracts, licences and permits to ODN.
The proposed transaction follows the acquisition of ODN by GS Holdings for $11.8 million in May.
GS executive director and acting chief executive officer Loo Hee Guan said: “We will continue to explore and evaluate other value accretive business opportunities with an eye towards consolidating our distribution footprint in the Singapore market as well as regional expansion opportunities.”
AB InBev’s Corona and Budweiser brands were the first- and second-ranked beer brands in Kantar’s BrandZ 2025 Most Valuable Global Brands report.
The Singapore beer market is set to grow from US$9.3 billion (S$11.9 billion) in 2024 to US$11.5 billion at a compound annual growth rate of about 3.6 per cent through 2030, a TechSci Research report indicated.
Additionally, a Singapore Beer Industry Association 2024 white paper said the beer industry generates an annual direct economic impact of more than $1.5 billion.
It estimated that 140 million litres of beer is set to be sold by the end of 2025, up from 134 million in 2022.
The larger Asian beer market is forecast to be about US$241 billion in 2025, said research firm Mordor Intelligence, and is set to grow to US$311 billion by 2030.
Increasing disposable incomes, the recovery of the tourism industry and the wider availability of premium, craft and low-alcohol beer options are set to drive that growth.
Still, broader challenges in the food and beverage sector in Singapore remain. The number of F&B business closures in 2024 hit a 20-year-high. There were 913 closures as at May 2025, compared with 1,348 as at May 2024. Holland Village’s Wala Wala Cafe Bar also nearly closed in 2025 but reversed its plans.
Gen Z consumers in the Republic are also turning to sober clubbing, sipping coffee instead of alcohol. That is part of a larger reduction in alcohol consumption here, which follows a global trend identified by the World Health Organisation in 2024. THE BUSINESS TIMES
