Overseas Business

Expanding Beer and Soft Drinks Sales in Asia, including the Fast Growing Chinese Market, as the Top Priority

The Asahi Breweries Group produces and sells beer and soft drinks in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe. We intend to grow our overseas businesses to a pillar of future earnings for the Group by identifying China and Southeast Asia as our top priority regions and by striving to attain greater profitability and a solid foundation for growth. *Net sales and operating income (loss) for overseas businesses are included in the alcoholic beverages business, soft drink business and other business segments.

Beer Business in North America Beer Business in ASEAN and Oceania Regions

We emphasize profitability in our marketing activities by focusing We are working to increase sales of Asahi Super Dry as a on the West Coast, Hawaii and eastern metropolitan areas, premium beer in East Asia, Oceania and ASEAN countries where including New York, where Japanese beer brands enjoy high import duty tariff is lowered by the establishiment of AFTA

demand. In January 2005, we began selling Asahi Select, which (ASEAN Free Trade Area). In Taiwan, the launch of Asahi Kampai Review of Operations has been well accepted in the market. resulted in great success. In October 2005, we established a • Products manufactured and sold: Asahi Super Dry, Asahi Select Regional Office in Bangkok, Thailand to strengthen our • Production under license: Molson Canada, Ltd., Vancouver, marketing activities in the ASEAN and Oceania regions. Canada • Products manufactured and sold: Asahi Super Dry, Asahi Kampai ANNUAL • Production under license: Khon Kaen Brewery Co., Ltd., Thailand REPORT 27 2005 Beer Business in Europe

We sell Asahi Super Dry in Europe with a focus on the U.K. market, where demand for foreign beer is high, as well as in the Japanese and Asian beer market segments in France, Italy, Germany and Russia. In September 2005, we began production of Asahi Super Dry at Shepherd Neame Ltd., in the United Kingdom. • Product manufactured and sold: Asahi Super Dry • Production under license: Shepherd Neame Ltd., Kent, U.K.; Staropramen Brewery of Prague, Czech Republic

Asahi Super Dry Asahi Kampai North America Europe

ASEAN and Oceania Regions

Sales and marketing centers Production centers

Asahi Select Overseas Business

Beer Business in China

Asahi Breweries entered the Chinese beer market in 1994 and currently operates four joint venture companies, including Beijing

Beer Asahi Co., Ltd. and Hangzhou Xihu Beer Asahi Co., Ltd. These Soft Drinks in KoreaBeijing Beer Soft Drinks in China joint venture companies produce and sell Asahi Super Dry brand, which belongs to a premium beer category, as well as local brands in a standard beer category that constitutes the majority of demand. In January 2005, in order to accelerate the decision China and Korea making process, we opened our China Business Headquarters in Beijing as a base for the growing beer companies in which we have

invested. Total production volume of the companies in which Asahi Beijing Beer Asahi Co., Ltd. Breweries has invested reached 5,800,000 hectoliters in 2005. Beijing Dalian • Products manufactured and sold: Asahi Super Dry, other Asahi brand beers and local brand beers of each joint venture Yantai Beer company Asahi Co., Ltd. • Volume of production and sales: 5.8 million hectoliters (actual Shanghai results for 2005) Hangzhou Xihu • Business corporations (joint venture companies): Hangzhou Xihu Beer Asahi Co., Ltd. Beer Asahi Co., Ltd., Beijing Beer Asahi Co., Ltd., Yantai Beer Asahi Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Tsingtao Beer Asahi Co., Ltd. Taipei

Shenzhen Shenzhen Tsingtao Hong Kong Beer Asahi Co., Ltd. Soft Drinks Business in China and Korea

We produce and sell various soft drinks through joint ventures with Sales centers: Chinese and Korean companies. With respect to our soft drinks Asahi Breweries, Ltd. Asahi Beer (Shanghai) Product Services Co., Ltd. ANNUAL business with Korea's Haitai Beverage Co., Ltd. and China's 28 REPORT Lotte Asahi Liquor Co., Ltd. 2005 Tingyi-Asahi-Itochu Beverages Holding Co. Ltd., we will endeavor Production centers: Beer to further strengthen our profit base through technical and Soft drinks (Tingyi-Asahi-Itochu Beverages Holding Co. Ltd.) management support provided by the Asahi Breweries Group. Soft drinks (Qingdao Tsingtao Beer & Asahi Beverage Co., Ltd.) Soft drinks (Haitai Beverage Co., Ltd.) • Products manufactured and sold: bottled water, tea-based beverages, fruit juice and other soft drinks • Business corporations: Qingdao Tsingtao Beer & Asahi Beverage Co., Ltd. (joint venture between Tsingtao Breweries Group and Asahi Breweries, Ltd.), in Shandong, China; Tingyi-Asahi-Itochu Beverages Holding Co. Ltd. (joint venture between Tingyi Holding Corporation, Asahi Breweries, Ltd. and Itochu Corp.), in China and the Cayman Islands; and Haitai Beverages Co., Ltd. (consolidated subsidiary of Asahi Breweries, Ltd.), in Seoul, Korea

Topics 2 Commencement of Local Production of Asahi Super Dry in the United Kingdom. Expanding Growth in the Asian/ Topics 1 Oceania Regions, through a We will seek to expand sales of keg beer, which account Marketing Base in Bangkok, Thailand for a substantial proportion of consumption in the U.K. We are developing our marketing and sales activities market, through our latest base at Shepherd Neame focusing on the fast-growing ASEAN countries; East Ltd., in Kent, where licensed production has begun. In Asia, including Taiwan and Korea; and Australia. In an the U.K. market centered on London, the younger effort to enhance our competitive edge in these areas, generation's strong interest in Japan has provided a in October 2005 we started our Regional Office based favorable backdrop, encouraging recognition of Asahi in Bangkok to bolster rapid decision-making process Super Dry as a premium beer and resulting in growing and strengthen our business activities in the markets. demand in both the off-trade and on-trade markets. We These regions are the fastest growing markets in the will pursue full-scale entry into the on-trade market for beer business, where sales of Asahi Super Dry is steadily keg beer and seek to expand sales by accurately expanding. We will continue to make further growth in responding to demand from pubs, bars and other the ASEAN and Oceania regions. businesses through licensed production in the U.K.