In a move that could change the way that cellular provides market handsets in countries all over the globe, China Unicom (CHU) is giving away 12 bottles of beer to new subscribers. Its larger rival, China Mobile (CHL), the world’s largest cellular company, upped the ante by offering twice as many beers.
The move could be a huge lift for beer company stocks like Anheuser-Busch (BUD). With a billion handsets sold worldwide, the benefits to brewers are almost beyond imagination.
As the "free beer" movement grows beyond China, it may be that more expensive beverages will have to be part of the inducement for premium cellphones. An iPhone might come with a free bottle of Dom Perrion.
The action in China does raise the question of what cellular providers may have to do in markets as they become more mature. Beer may not be the ticket in every market, but it will probably work in most.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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