Tsingtao Brewery announced that beer sales met their target in 2002, having increased by one-fifth over the year to 3m tons. Sales of Tsingtao brand beer increased to 910,000 tons from 650,000 tons and exports more than doubled to 60,000 tons.
Tsingtao is China's largest brewer, having acquired 48 small local breweries in the last seven years, and currently has 13 per cent of the Chinese beer market, which is the second largest in the world. The company plans to cement its domination with a further expansion funded by the proceeds of a bond sale to Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewer.