China's leading beer brewer, Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd, will set up a Thailand marketing branch in Bangkok as the initial step to enter the southeastern Asian market.

This signifies that Tsingtao Brewery will export its brand, technology and production standards and not just its products, said the corporation president Jin Zhiguo at the contract signing ceremony Monday.

The new Tsingtao Thailand Marketing Co., Ltd will have a registered capital of 15 million Thailand Baht (about 363,000 US dollars), 30 percent from Tsingtao Brewery and 70 percent from Thailand.

The company will try to weave a marketing network in Thailand, based on which Tsingtao Brewery will develop cooperation with local brewers.

The high tariffs in southeastern Asian countries makes it difficult for Tsingtao Beer to enter this area.

Jin said this is a "market first and factory second" mode that attempts to develop the overseas market.

The Thai government said they will support Tsingtao Brewery's development plan.

Thailand reported beer consumption of 1.59 million kiloliters last year, still with great potential in this field.

Tsingtao Brewery has 50 subcompanies in China, dotted in 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Its yearly production capacity reached 5.1 million kiloliters last year while it achieved a sale of 8.6 billion yuan (about one billion US dollars), a year-on-year growth of 14.8 percent.

Source: Xinhua