(Yicai Global) Jan. 9 -- China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company [HK:0291] under the state-owned China Resources (Holdings) Co. will raise the prices of some of its products in various regions due to rising costs. The brewery's price hike comes amid increased market competition and rising costs.

The company has confirmed the price markup for some products due to what it said rising costs of raw materials, packaging and labor in a statement yesterday. However, it hasn't announced the new prices yet. Some media reports suggested earlier that some Chinese alcoholic drinks firms would raise prices from January.

Several Chinese beer makers including Tsingtao Brewery Co. increased their prices starting from the New Year.  Tsingtao Brewery [SHA:600600; HKG:0168] announced up to 5 percent price hike for some of its products.

Among the reasons why China's breweries announce a series of price increases one after another are rising labor and material costs prompted by the country's new environmental tax, consumer consumption upgrade and increased competition from imported brands.