Efes Kazakhstan holds a leading position in the beer market of Kazakhstan. The company is a member of the Efes Beer Group, which is a multinational group in the beverage industry and consists of 34 companies, specializing in the production and sale of beer and soft drinks in Turkey, Eastern Europe and CIS countries, as well as the production of malt and hops. Efes Beer Group is a leader in the beer market in Turkey, and has its own breweries in Eastern Europe and CIS countries. Efes Beer Group was one of the first investors in Kazakhstan. In 1997 Efes Beer Group privatized and then conducted a full reconstruction of the Kolos brewery in Karaganda, on the basis of which the company Efes Kazakhstan was created. In the course of this multi-stage reconstruction process, old equipment from Karaganda’s plant was replaced with new. Due to investments made there in 2002, it achieved a maximum volume of production of 44 million liters. Later on, the high demand for the company’s products and the attractiveness of the south region market, as well as export plans, became the basis for the company’s decision to open a second plant. In order to increase the production capacity, construction of a new brewery started in the Almaty region in 2001. The official opening of the Efes Kazakhstan Almaty brewery was held on the 26th of August 2003 with the participation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. At the present moment the company owns 3 breweries; 2 of them are situated in the Almaty region and one in Karaganda. The company provides over 700 jobs. The company represents a number of brands on the Kazakhstan beer market, which correspond to different sections of the market: Efes Pilsener, Karagandinskoe, Kruzhka Svezhego, Bely Medved, Zhigulevskoye, Bavaria, Amsterdam Navigator, Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft, Velkopopovický Kozel, Pilsner Urquel, Zhivoe 3 nedeli.