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Economic Priorities

PRODUCT QUALITY AND SAFETY

Our commitment to ensuring the traceability, safety and consistency of our products through high-quality standards and procedures.

Stakeholder Groups Most Concerned:

Consumers; Customers; Government Agencies and Regulators

Food safety is of paramount importance to us, and we believe that it is a non-negotiable consideration in all our product offerings.

In our pursuit of perfection, we are committed to meeting international standards of quality as per ISO 9001:2015 and food safety standards as per HACCP MS1480:2019. We comply fully with all statutory and regulatory requirements, and our team also ensures that we adhere to our internal quality and food safety requirements highlighted in our Carlsberg Operational Manual (COM). This includes undertaking an Annual Assessment on Quality, which is a mandatory requirement under the COM.

In 2022, we also embarked on several initiatives under our Enhancement of Quality Culture Programme that included Food Handler Training for Supply Chain Employees and Contractors, Hygiene Improvement and Facilities Upgrades and more.

We are pleased to report that in the year under review, there were zero cases of non-compliance with regulations and codes of conduct pertaining to the health and safety impacts of our products and services. In addition, there were zero product recalls from consumers related to food safety and quality. Notably, our brewery hygiene score also stood at 83.7%, an increase of 3.7% from the previous year.

Our customers and consumers expect only the best from us, and by ensuring that our products are consistently of high quality and safe to consume, we gain their confidence and build brand loyalty. Going forward, we intend to increase our capital expenditure on more food safety and product quality enhancement initiatives, as we strive towards implementing industry-leading practices.

RESPONSIBLE ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Our commitment to ethically marketing alcoholic and non-alcoholic products to consumers in a responsible and appropriate manner, both in traditional and e-commerce channels.

Stakeholder Groups Most Concerned:

Consumers; Customers; Government Agencies and Regulators

As we work towards our commitment to ZERO Irresponsible Drinking, we adhere to a standard set of advisories in our marketing collaterals. This includes informing consumers of the permitted drinking age of 18+ in Singapore and 21+ in Malaysia; the message of Do Not Drink and Drive; and the reminder to #CELEBRATERESPONSIBLY. We also work in partnership with our respective marketing agencies to ensure that they are aligned with our advocacy and our philosophy of ‘enjoyment in moderation’. We take our social responsibility seriously and we intend to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.

As such, we are cognisant that the collaterals and campaigns that we put up on public platforms represent us and can impact our reputation. Therefore, we strive to ensure the highest standards in our advertising and marketing efforts with a specific focus on responsible drinking. We are guided by our Group’s Marketing Communication Policy and thus request our agencies to adhere to comprehensive and transparent advertisement campaign verification and approval metrics. In particular, such data provide us with insights on brand safety and advertisement fraud, which can help us to pre-empt and avoid complications and damage to our reputation. We also work with our agency partners to track the brand risk and ensure that our campaign visuals only appear on legitimate sites. These metrics not only help us to maintain our stringent practice of responsible advertising and marketing, but also enable our performance to be benchmarked against market standards.

Our practices can be observed in various brand and marketing touchpoints, including:

  • Corporate and brand websites
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • e-Commerce

THREATS TO COMMERCIAL FREEDOM

Our commitment to addressing potential threats to operations in Malaysia due to illicit trade.

Stakeholder Groups Most Concerned:

Government Agencies and Regulators; Investors; Customers

Threats to commercial freedom can affect our entire supply chain and our stakeholders. Notably, the illicit alcohol trade poses a major threat to responsible brewers like us, as well as to our distributors and outlets that rely on the sale of our beer to make a living. Furthermore, the government loses tax revenue when consumers turn to illegally imported beer.

The impact of illegally imported beer is not to be underestimated and we have thus pledged our commitment to partnering with the government in its efforts. For example, Carlsberg Malaysia has attended several Multi-Agency Task Force meetings, led by the Ministry of Finance and comprising enforcement teams from various government agencies, to discuss ways to eradicate smuggled or illicit alcohol.

In addition, we have conducted illicit beer awareness campaigns through the Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Berhad (CMBB). We have also collaborated with the Royal Malaysian Customs Department to run public awareness campaigns on the prevalence of illicit beer.

As a result of concerted efforts, in 2021, the government managed to prosecute more than 800 cases relating to illegally imported beer. This amounted to approximately RM80 million in tax leakages recovered.

We recognise that the main reason some consumers prefer to buy illicit beer is due to the significant price difference between duty-paid legitimate beer and duty non-paid illicit beer. Thus, through CMBB, we have been consistently engaging in discussions with the government relating to excise duty rates for beer and how to curb contraband. We are encouraged by both the Malaysian and Singaporean governments’ decisions to not increase beer excise duty in 2022. We are also pleased to report that we did not encounter any disruptions due to licensing issues in the year under review.

ECONOMIC IMPACT AND TAX

We are committed to driving positive economic impact across all our markets and do this through the creation of jobs, our investment in the wider value chain and dutifully fulfilling our taxation responsibilities.

Stakeholder Groups Most Concerned:

Government Agencies and Regulators; Investors and Employees

We are an important contributor to the economies of Malaysia and Singapore. The Group currently operates 15 sales offices across Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak, on top of our Singapore operations based in Zhongshan Park.

Through employment opportunities, our operations add value to the local workforce. We are a member of the Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Berhad, and collectively, the brewing industry has created 61,000 direct and indirect jobs. We not only contribute to the economy in terms of salaries, but also in terms of direct and indirect taxes and excise duties.

Refer to page 33 for an overview of our economic contribution.

Specifically, in the year under review, the Government of Malaysia announced a one-off Prosperity Tax imposed on the portion of YA2022 chargeable income of non-Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (non-MSMEs) in Malaysia exceeding RM100 million at a rate of 33%. As a result of this policy, Carlsberg Malaysia Group’s provisional Prosperity Tax is estimated at RM22 million, subject to final tax submission in 2023.

The Group has 50 years of experience as a brewer in Malaysia and more than 30 years in Singapore and is committed to using its decades of experience to do good and drive sustainable economic growth where we operate. We look to expand our current operations and at the same time, create more jobs for the community. This will cement our standing as a well-respected brewer that is focused on value creation.

EXTERNAL RISKS TO SUPPLY CHAIN

We strive to overcome challenges that affect our supply chain, including raw material availability, import and export restrictions caused by trade wars or pandemic-related labour and travel restrictions.

Stakeholder Groups Most Concerned:

Customers; Suppliers and Vendors; Investors

 

We face many external risks that may disrupt or affect our production processes, such as the COVID-19 lockdowns in certain countries and the Russia-Ukraine war, which have compromised the availability of raw materials. On top of these disruptions, we have to contend with other industry players who require the same raw materials from similar sources. As such, we make every effort to secure a consistent supply of raw materials sourced overseas to ensure business continuity and to meet the demands of our consumers.

At Carlsberg Malaysia Group, we conduct regular reviews to identify and mitigate our risks, according to the Group’s risk management plan and procedure and in accordance with local procurement policies. As part of the Carlsberg Procurement Policy, we secure main raw and packaging materials with contracts of one year and above. Additionally, we diversify our pool of suppliers across continents and increase stock levels in the brewery to be aligned with prolonged lead times.

Although there were multiple COVID-19 challenges in 2022 amid the global supply chain crisis that caused the unavailability of materials, we did not face any major disruptions due to our efficient management of material supply. We strive to minimise the impact external risks may have on our operations and our supply chain by identifying opportunities to secure a reliable supply of raw materials and other initiatives to bolster the resilience of our supply chain. In 2022, we leveraged the Group’s network of suppliers to combat shortages.

Going forward, we will make efforts to expand our supplier pool to include those from other countries and actively qualify backup suppliers.