READING

SAB Moves to London South African Breweries, the world’s fourth largest brewer, is about to relocate to London where it hopes to raise capital by selling shares on the London Stock Exchange.Since the fall of apartheid, the brewer has expanded rapidly outside South Africa into emerging markets in eastern Europe, Asia and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. SAB’s biggest move came in 1994 when the group jumped continents by entering the post-communist world of eastern Europe with the acquisition of a brewer in Hungary. It has since added brewing interests in Romania, Slovakia, Russia and Poland. It has also expanded into Asia with shares in four Chinese breweries through joint venture, and is negotiating to buy a fifth. ‘ Unlike most other brewers, we make money in China’, says Graham Mackay, managing Director of SAB. However, its ability to grow internationally is limited by exchange controls that restrict the use of cash from its South African brewing activities to fund overseas expansion. ‘We must acquire access to the global share market to further growth in our international brewing business’, says Mr Mackay.SAB is not about pull out of South Africa, where it also owns the country’s largest soft drinks bottling business and its largest hotels and gaming business. And it believes the core brewing business has room for further growth-despite its market share of 98%. ‘More than 45% of the population in under 19 and yet to enter their beer-drinking years’, says Mr Mackay. ‘More and more people are moving from the countryside into the towns. They earn more money and they choose to buy beer with it’.One of the main purposes of listing the company on the London Stock Exchange is to fund further acquisitions in emerging markets, particularly in Poland. But the group also wants the freedom to be an active participant in the consolidation of the global brewing industry where ten largest brewers control little more than a third of the market. ‘We must participate in that process on equal terms with other international brewers or we will languish’, says Mr Mackay.

I. Mark each of the following statements T (true) of F (false)

1. SAB has expanded rapidly outside South Africa since the end of apartheid.2. SAB wants to leave the South African market.3. SAB dominates the market in South Africa.4. SAB has good opportunities for growth in its home market.5. SAB sells beer in eastern Europe.6. In South Africa, SAB is only involved in making beer.7. SAB has been unable to make a profit from its activities in China.8. There are many small brewers in the international market.

20p

II. Why does SAB want to move to London? Mark all the answers that are correct.1. The UK is its largest market.2. It needs to be inside the European Union.3. It wants to become part of the global beer industry4. It wants to compete equally with international brewers.5. It hasn’t been very successful in South Africa.6. Exchange controls restrict the company in moving its funds abroad.

A. Fill in the gaps in the text with the best word:

Company choices

It has become commonplace to say that the world is changing at an ever-increasing

pace. Companies today are faced with a stark choice:...........................1. or go under.

For example, until recently, companies typically tended to be................................2. They

were built on a model which achieved a high degree of control, but

which...................................3. of communication were very slow. Another disadvantage

of this type of organisation is that more junior .........................4. may not even know who

the CEO is, or what.........................5. the decision makers are trying to achieve. In order

to try and solve this problem, many organisations have adopted a less.....................6.,

more flexibile business culture in which frequent contact between the owner and the

employees ensure that.................................7. is flowing smoothly. A second difficult

choice for a company concerns the extent to which it should go global or

remain................................8. Global operations allow maximum ....................................9.

of scale, while localisation makes it possible to...................................10. quickly to

market changes and to reach the market...........................11. In order to reduce the

tension between global and local demands, many companies have adopted a „hub and

spoke” structure. They use several regional production and...............................12. „hubs”

where neighbouring markets are serviced from one single location.

1. a) adopt b) market c)adapt d)research

2. a) economical b) hierarchical c)welcoming d)democratic

3. a)webs b)media c)roads d)channels

4. a)customers b)directors c)staff d)buyers

5. a)goals b)design c)plan d) sales

6. a)bureaucratic b)caring c)decentralised d)market-driven

7. a)information b)news c)speech d)interest

8. a)professional b)static c)local d)impersonal

9. a)production b)economies c)marketing d)savings

10.a)call b)demand c)enquire d)respond

11. a)shares b)research c)leaders d)sectors

12.a) manufacturing b)selection c)distribution d)advertising.

B. Past Perfect and Past Simple

Choose the correct tense (simple past or past perfect):

When I (go)............to Paris last spring for a job interview, I (not

be)................................. . there for five years. I (arrive).............................the evening

before the interview, and (spend)..................a happy hour walking round thinking about

the good times I (spend)...............................there as a student. As I was strolling by the

Seine, I suddenly (see)...............................a familiar face- it was Nedjma, the woman I

(share)........................................... a flat with when I was a student and whose address I

(lose)............................after leaving Paris. I could tell she (not see)...............me, so I

(call)..........................her name and she (look up)............................................. As she

(turn )......................................... towards me, I (realise)............................that she

(have).............................an ugly scar on the side of her face. She

(see)..................................the shock in my eyes, and her hand (go).........................up to

touch the scar;she (explain)...................................that she (get) ....................................it

when she was a journalist reporting on a war in Africa.

. Ouestions

Miyuki Kimura is introducing herself at a training session. Read the text and write

questions for the answers:

Hello, everybody. I’m Miyuki Kimura and I’m an analyst for a Swiss securities

company in Tokyo. I have been working here for three years. I was born in Yokahoma in

1962 and I travel to work by train. It takes one and a half hours. In my spare time I play

golf and tennis.

I left my last company because it was difficult for a woman to be promoted. The

thing that interests me most in my current job is the opportunity to work with some of the

top analysts in Japan. My colleagues say I’m a good team member.

1. ………………………………………………. .?

Miyuki Kimura.

2. ……………………………………………….. ?

I’m an analyst for a Swiss securities company.

3. ………………………………………………..?

For three years.

4. …………………………………………………?

In Yokahoma.

5. …………………………………………………?

Golf and tennis.

6. …………………………………………………?

Because it was difficult for a woman to be promoted.

IV. FUNCTIONS

Saying numbers.

1996 …...………………………………………………………

2003 ……………………………………………………………

16.5 …………………………………………………………..

17.38 % ………………………………………………………….

0.185 ………………………………………………………….

3560 ………………………………………………………..

598, 347 …………………………………………………………..

33,300,402 …………………………………………………………..

1m …………………………………………………………..

$7.5 bn …………………………………………………………..

₤478m …………………………………………………………..