Tsingtao revs up on Asahi stake sale

Shares of Tsingtao Brewery Co Ltd rose nearly 5 percent on Friday after the beer maker confirmed that its second-largest shareholder Asahi Group of Japan was selling all or part of its stake in the Chinese company.

Shanghai-listed Tsingtao Brewery jumped by 4.99 percent to close at 32.85 yuan ($4.98), while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.13 percent.

Currently, Asahi Group holds a 19.99 percent stake in Tsingtao Brewery. In a statement, Asahi said that it did not have any further details to disclose at the moment, though industry insiders termed the move as part of the steps initiated by the Japanese group to gradually withdraw from China.