KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Heineken Malaysia Berhad (Heineken) corrected a report claiming it was raising beer prices by up to 12 per cent, saying the increase will be capped to 5 per cent instead.

The brewer was responding to a report by The Edge Financial Daily asserting that beer prices were set to rise by the amount from April 1.

However, Heineken said the price of the non-alcoholic product Malta would have risen by 12 per cent as a result of the government’s so-called "soda tax” of 40 sen/L on soft drinks and sugary beverages from April 1.

"Nevertheless, as the government recently postponed the implementation of this new tax to 1 July 2019, the price adjustment of Malta from 1 April 2019, will be in line with other products in our portfolio, which is between 0 per cent to 5 per cent,” it said the statement.

The report yesterday said Heineken and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia were raising prices due to cost increases for raw material and packaging.