HEINEKEN Regional Managing Director makes official visit to Sri Lanka

April, 3, 2023

~Affirms confidence in the country's growth opportunity to "Brew A Better World" ~

HEINEKEN Lanka, a wholly owned subsidiary of HEINEKEN NV, announced that Mr Uday Sinha, Regional Managing Director at HEINEKEN Asia Pacific, made an official visit to Sri Lanka recently. Mr Sinha's visit focused on engaging with local teams and partners to strengthen HEINEKEN's position in Sri Lanka. This was his first visit to Sri Lanka since the company commenced locally brewing its global premium flagship brand Heineken® in 2021 - the only 100% pure malt lager beer in Sri Lanka. It is brewed using the four high-quality ingredients of European malt, water, European Hops, and Heineken® A-Yeast and managed through stringent quality controls.

Domiciled in Singapore, and an engineer by profession, conferred by the prestigious Birla Institute of Technology in India, Mr Sinha also holds a Master of Business Administration from Xavier School of Management. As Regional Managing Director at HEINEKEN Asia Pacific, he is responsible for overseeing the growth and development of some of HEINEKEN's 24 operating companies in the region, including Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Papua New Guinea, since 2021.

Emphasizing the country's strategic importance, Mr Sinha said, "We see the immense potential of Sri Lanka through moderation and enjoyment with our international premium brands. We are happy to have invested significantly in the country over the years and support Sri Lanka during turbulent times, especially through the recent up-gradation of our brewery, to locally brew our beer brands to match the international quality and standards it is globally renowned for. As Sri Lanka returns to recovery, we look forward to seeing progressive strides being made to enable consumers to choose the brands they love through a fair and competitive playing field. The key here is to unlock greater accessibility of soft liquor in the market by granting increased operating licenses in the country. I want to thank the Government of Sri Lanka, the Department of Excise, the Ministry of Finance, and all other stakeholders who are making every effort to make this a reality and look forward to working closely together with them in this regard."

"It was delightful to welcome Uday to Sri Lanka and receive his valuable insights on the Sri Lankan market as we continue to Change the Game of Beer in Sri Lanka", said Maud Meijboom-van Wel, Managing Director of HEINEKEN Lanka. "We intend to lead the market through our iconic brands with passion through innovation and premiumization at scale, providing consumers and customers with the brands they want to buy with easy access. This visit, therefore, helped us accelerate our commitment to deliver on our portfolio strategy that is fit to win and capable of shaping the future of the beer market in Sri Lanka," she concluded.

In addition to its agenda to win in the market, HEINEKEN Lanka has also stepped up its commitments on sustainability and responsibility with its Brew a Better World 2030 Strategy, and has already achieved 96% carbon neutrality in production, while promoting moderation and making inclusion and diversity a part of its DNA.