Tsingtao Becomes Exclusive Chinese Beer of Quicken Loans Arena in Multi-Year Partnership

CLEVELAND, OH - December 14, 2009 - Tsingtao Brewery Co. has signed a multi-year agreement with the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers to become the exclusive Chinese beer of Quicken Loans Arena. The partnership is the first between Tsingtao (pronounced CHING dow), China’s most popular beer company, and an NBA team and arena in the United States. The announcement was made jointly today by Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena President, Len Komoroski and Tsingtao President of Global Marketing, Ms. Xu Yan.

“As the NBA’s presence and global popularity grows by leaps and bounds in Asia, the Cavaliers are proud to be part of the forefront of NBA teams in establishing these types of relationships,” said Komoroski. “Teaming up with the best selling Chinese beer in the world and showcasing Tsingtao to our fans at Quicken Loans Arena is very exciting for us.”

In addition to being the exclusive Chinese beer of Quicken Loans Arena, the Tsingtao partnership elements include:

“This is a win-win partnership between the Cavaliers, Quicken Loans Arena and Tsingtao. The Cavaliers' large, passionate fan base and the excitement of everything at The Q are a good match for Tsingtao,” said Yan. “Meanwhile, the NBA and the Cavaliers will continue to strengthen their outreach to fans in China as the popularity and promotion of the game continues to expand in China and around the world. We also look forward to extending our relationship to the charity sector here in the future to help share Tsingtao's brand positioning of passion, success and happiness."

The Cavaliers and Tsingtao partnership announcement was made at a press conference signing ceremony” held at Quicken Loans Arena on Monday, December 14th. Representing the Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena in the signing ceremony were Len Komoroski the Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena President and Danny Ferry the Cavaliers General Manager. Representing Tsingtao were Ms. Xu Yan, Tsingtao’s President of Sales and Marketing and Mr. Guo Yu Sun. The event was attended by a delegation of 18 Tsingtao representatives from China and special guests. A performance by the Tsingtao Dancers and Cavalier Girls was a highlight along with a Tsingtao beer toast for well over 100 attendees.

China is viewed as a very large and strategically important growth market for the NBA with over 300 million people playing basketball and even more engaged with the sport at some level. The NBA is the most watched sports league in China coupled with China being the league’s largest market outside the United States and Canada.

The popularity of the Cavaliers in China continues to grow as evidenced in the number of Cavs games televised in China and the growth in Chinese media covering the NBA, and the Cavaliers specifically. During the 2009-10 season, 34 Cavs games are slated for broadcast on television in China. In addition, several of the largest sports media outlets in China have representatives covering every Cavaliers home game and numerous games on the road as well. In October of 2007 the Cavaliers traveled to China for three preseason games as part of the NBA’s China Games. Two were played in Shanghai and one in Macao.About Tsingtao:
Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited is a leading beer brand in China. Founded in 1903, Tsingtao is the beer manufacture in China with the longest history, and currently tops the China beer industry in terms of sales, market share and brand value. In 1993, Tsingtao became the first company listed in both the Hong Kong stock market and the Mainland China stock market (Shanghai Stock Exchange). Tsingtao is also the 7th largest beer manufacture in the world, having been ranked as such in 2006, 2007 and 2008 by the Barth Report, a global beer industry report.