WHAT'S UP

InBev CEO Carlos Brito for stronger India brew
Charismatic CEO of the world's largest brewer AB InBev, Carlos Brito, will be on his first visit to India during the last week of January. Brito spearheaded In-Bev's $52 billion takeover of Anheuser Busch, makers of Budweiser beer, and now heads the joint entity making him one of the top 30 global CEOs, according to Barron's.AB InBev has a local JV with Ravi Jaipuria's RJ Corp. Brito would like to see InBev turn more aggressive and scale up in a key growth market like India, where it trails behind international rivals SABMiller and Carlsberg.
Muthoot to set up business hotel in Sri Lanka
After building seaside resorts and business hotels in South India, Kerala-based Muthoot Pappachan Group now plans to set up a property in Sri Lanka. The group, best known for its gold financing business, is in the midst of zeroing in on a location for a business hotel in the island nation, which attracted 8.5 lakh tourists in 2011, clocking in earnings of $800 million.
While the group, led by Thomas John Muthoot, will invest towards the land and development of the property, it intends to offer the management of the hotel to an international hospitality chain. Currently its various hotels in India are managed by Taj and Hilton groups. If things go as planned, Sri Lanka will be the stepping stone for the group's international e pansion plan.
(Contributed by Reeba Zachariah)