Suntory has confirmed a report it will invest almost US$1bn in its US Bourbon distilleries, a decision partly spurred by US President Donald Trump’s corporate tax cuts.
In an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review, Suntory president Takeshi Niinami said the company will spend JPY100bn (US$905m) to boost capacity at its Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark Kentucky distilleries. The money will also be used to build new warehousing facilities and step up focus on whiskey highballs, demand for which has increased spirits sales in Japan.
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A spokesperson for Suntory’s global spirits arm, Beam Suntory, confirmed the report to just-drinks today.
In the Nikkei interview, held at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, Niinami said the increase in capital spending was partly down to new laws that have cut the US corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. The legislation, part of Trump’s plan to decrease costs for US businesses, passed the Senate last month and was signed into law by the president. It has been hailed by Suntory rival Brown-Forman, which said it could help level the playing field for US businesses competing globally.
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