Execs see myriad growth opportunities

Carlos Brito, CEO of AB InBev. [Photo/IC]

A1: Operational efficiencies are important for our business. We have been investing in China for the future to build our footprint and innovation capabilities. This has a long-term impact on our ability to increase our efficiencies and to grow top-line.

A2: We have some 40 breweries in China and we brew most of our volume domestically.

Hence, our operations in China are less exposed to currency fluctuations. Meanwhile, product prices for fast-moving consumer goods industry are not so sensitive to currency changes.

A3: With a strong heritage and more than 30 years of experience in the Chinese beer market, we remain deeply committed to China. Our Chinese business has so far been very successful and we believe in the long-term potential of this market for our company.

In 2015, we were able to achieve growth in both sales volume and revenue in China, despite a volume decline in the Chinese beer industry.

We have said that we expect industry volumes to remain under pressure in 2016. But we expect our volumes to perform better than the industry, as we've had the last few years, driven by the fact that we're heavily skewed toward premium and super premium brands.

Overall, we have a strong and diversified portfolio in China, including the Budweiser brand, which had its sixth consecutive year of double-digit volume growth, and Harbin beer, which is becoming one of the most preferred brands among young adult consumers.

A4: China has seen an amazing growth story over the long term. We see it as a visionary move to change the growth model toward a more internal consumption model, and we believe it could have a positive impact for us over time.

Whenever we have a shift of this magnitude in the underlying structure of an economy, not everything will happen smoothly or as a straight line.

However, we are optimistic about the future and will work on driving sustainable growth in China by continuing to focus on building winning brands, increasing our operational efficiencies and developing a talent pool while engaging our colleagues in building a better company and a better world.