Heineken CEO Outlines Vision for the Brewer's Global Footprint

BROMSGROVE, England, May 27, 2011 -

The head of Heineken has told just-drinks.com that he sees Africa as "the
cornerstone" of the brewer's business, with strong potential across the
continent for both mainstream and premium beer, in an exclusive interview
published today.

The brewer, which has been operating in the region for over 70 years, has
upped its presence of late in Africa, with a partnership with Diageo in South
Africa, and victory in a bidding race for two brewers in Ethiopia.

Speaking exclusively to just-drinks, Heineken's CEO, Jean-François van
Boxmeer (
www.just-drinks.com/interview/the-wehring-interview-heineken-part-ii_id103993.aspx),
talked up the potential Africa offers the brewer. "Political
stability in the African markets is improving, and the middle classes are
emerging - that is what our business is thriving on," he said.

"Africa won't be left at the side of the road; the rest of the world
needs Africa. I see big improvements there, it's the cornerstone of our
business. We have been multiplying the profits from our operations in Africa
by five in around eight years - it's one of the biggest growth engines we
have.

"What Brazil is for Anheuser-Busch InBev, Africa is for Heineken. Sure,
it's smaller than Brazil, but we are also earlier in the growth curve."

Regarding Ethiopia specifically, van Boxmeer conceded that the market was
well-suited more to mainstream beer rather than premium brands like Heineken.

"Africa has booming markets for mainstream brands," he said. "However, in
some of the markets, premium brands have a sizeable share. South Africa is
one of the first of them, along with places like Algeria and Nigeria stepping
up to the premium segment. Ethiopia will be more focused on mainstream
brands, so you have different stages of maturity."

An exclusive two-part interview with Jean-François van Boxmeer appears on
just-drinks this week.

Read the full interview here:
www.just-drinks.com/interview/the-wehring-interview-heineken-part-ii_id103993.aspx

(Due to the length of these URLs, it may be necessary to copy and paste
hyperlinks into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the
space if one exists.)

The interview is available for full members of just-drinks.com only. To
gain access to this interview along with beverage industry information,
insight and intelligence visit: www.just-drinks.com/membership.aspx

About just-drinks

Since 1999, www.just-drinks.com has been the leading and most
respected beverage industry website globally. The site's unique news,
analysis, comment and research content is produced and sourced via a
dedicated editorial team, worldwide network of correspondents and content
partnerships. In addition, the www.just-drinks.com research store
provides instant access to over 4,000 market research reports.

    Contact
    Chris Boaz
    chris.boaz@aroq.com
    +44(0)1527-573-600

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