Femsa beer exports unhurt by U.S. slowdown

By Chris Aspin and Gabriela Lopez

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Femsa, the largest Coke bottler and brewer in Latin America, is not seeing any negative impact on its beer exports to the United States despite the economic slowdown in Mexico's top trading partner.

Chief Executive Officer Javier Astaburuaga said the company's exports to the U.S. market, where its sells its Sol, Tecate and Dos Equis beers, was "good, favorable and sustained."

Femsa's beer exports, mainly to the United States, jumped 19.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

"Our performance in the U.S. market continues to be pretty positive," Astaburuaga told the Reuters Latin American Investment Summit on Thursday.

Astaburuaga also said Femsa (FMX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (FMSAUBD.MX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) planned to set up its retail store chain, which sells the company's Coca-Cola products and beers alongside snacks, in Colombia over the next 12 to 18 months.

"It is about setting up a base of around 30 stores, it could be a few more or a few less," Astaburuaga said of Oxxo, the largest convenience store chain in Latin America.

Asked if Femsa planned to focus on Bogota or other main cities, Astaburuaga said: "We are not thinking of a model that has a big reach in terms of cities."

Femsa has 5,500 Oxxo stores in Mexico, dotting the streets of major cities and towns. In Monterrey, where Femsa is based, Oxxo stores can be found almost on every block.

Astaburuaga said Colombia had been selected as Femsa's pilot international expansion because of its consumer habits and because it was a big enough market.

(For summit blog: summitnotebook.reuters.com/)

(Reporting by Chris Aspin and Gabriela Lopez; editing by Carol Bishopric, Gary Hill)