Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

BUSINESS

Italian beer Peroni officially turns Japanese

Italy's iconic beer, Peroni, officially became Japanese on Thursday following a year of talks.

Published: 12 October 2016 10:35 CEST

Italian beer Peroni officially turns Japanese

Peroni is the most famous Italian brewery. Photo: Matthew Eisman / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

The Asahi Europe group bought Peroni – a one-time Italian family-run firm – from SABMiller, which had acquired the company in 2003.

SABMiller had to put the brand up for sale in order to win regulatory approval for the London-based group's proposed takeover by Anheuser-Busch InBev, due to concerns over competition.

The sale “is an important moment for the historical Italian brewery, not just as a demonstration of its market value, but also as a sign of new opportunities for international growth and development,” a statement from Peroni said on Thursday.

Peroni started up 170 years ago, and announced a record high turnover during the last fiscal year, in which it made a net profit of €21.5 million.

Negotiations with Asahi have been ongoing for a year, with the €2.25bn sale officially agreed in April 2016.

“Given that it has been a decade since Peroni was in the hands of the family, it's better it is being bought by Asahi, which is a very good brewer, than by an investment fund which would only have had a speculative interest,” Giorgio Zasio, the Italian brewer who created the popular Nastro Azzuro beer, said of the sale in February.

“The important thing is that the company and those who work for it can look to the future with confidence.”

Peroni's production plants, however, will remain in Italy. They are based in Rome, Bari and Padua.

READ ALSO: More Italian women drink beer than the Irish

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

The verdict: What are the best banks for foreigners in Italy?

If you’re planning on moving to Italy, opening a bank account will be one of the very first things you’ll have to do in the country.

Overseas accounts (especially those from outside the eurozone) are unlikely to cut it for everyday tasks like paying bills and taxes, receiving an Italian salary and taking out insurance as many Italian authorities require an account with an Italian IBAN number for these purposes.

Italy has a large number of banks to choose from, ranging from traditional Italian institutions to international banks to a host of online-only operators that have grown in popularity in recent years.

But Italian-only online information, confusing paperwork and a swarm of different offers can make it hard to find the right option, which is why we asked readers of The Local to share some of their best insider tips in a recent survey.

Traditional v online banking

If you’re looking to open an account in Italy, one of the very first decisions you’ll be faced with will be whether to opt for a traditional institution or a digital banking platform.

Overall, around four in ten respondents indicated an online banking platform as the best option for foreigners in the country, with many pointing to low account fees, advantageous currency exchange rates and a far greater degree of flexibility compared to traditional institutions.

READ ALSO: Which documents do I need to open an Italian bank account?

The majority of respondents however selected a traditional Italian bank as the best option, citing greater levels of trust in traditional institutions, the advantage of dealing with people face to face and, in some cases, the availability of specific services and information for foreign nationals.

Traditional banks

Italy’s biggest private bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, was recommended by multiple readers as the best option for foreign nationals in the country.

Intesa San Carlo, Italy

People walk past the headquarters of Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo in Turin’s Piazza San Carlo in January 2017. Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP

Iain Gosling, a UK national living in Pisa, Tuscany, highlighted the quality of their online services, saying: “The app is easy to use and it translates into English automatically. Online banking is easy. We maintain bank accounts in the UK and send funds to ISP, no problem.”

Another British national living in Pisa focused on the advantages of dealing with Italy’s largest bank, saying that “a lot of operations are done through ISP so the transaction fee is low” and the large number of branches across Italy makes it easy to “open an account quickly in person.”

Laura, a US-Italian citizen living in Ascoli Piceno, Marche, praised Intesa Sanpaolo for their customer service, saying staff were “patient and understanding” following a bad experience with another bank.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about opening a bank account in Italy

Besides Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit was also mentioned on multiple occasions within the survey, though opinions on Italy’s second-largest bank were mixed.

Stewart, an Australian national living in Umbria, said they “never had any problem paying bills or making transfers” even when out of the country, and the bank has “a pretty good website, including an English-language (sort of) option”.

But other readers had rather different experiences. Laura, from Ascoli Piceno, said her experience with UniCredit was “a nightmare” as “they couldn’t open the account correctly” and trying to solve the issue was “humiliating and impossible”.

Cindy in Orte, Lazio, mentioned that UniCredit “arbitrarily raised checking account rates for foreigners who are not residents from 20€ annual to 120€ annual”, whilst another reader reported that “it took someone I know three months to open an account”.

Finally, two readers recommended BancoPosta – a branch of Italy’s Post Office offering basic financial services – based on low fees, presence in all major Italian towns, and easy sign-up procedures.

Online banking and transfer platforms

Wise (formerly TransferWise) was by far the most highly recommended digital platform within our survey.

A British reader in Tuscany hailed it for its “speedy transfers, good exchange rates, and prompt problem resolution”, highlighting the contrast with “slow, expensive and paper intensive” traditional banks.

Revolut

A close-up detail of a card from digital bank Revolut. Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP

Jenny Lantschner, a British-Italian national in Lucca, also pointed out Wise services’ speed, saying that it’s “very easy to use on a smartphone and will send funds within minutes”.

Besides Wise, several readers recommended Italian online bank Fineco, which they praised for easy account-opening procedures, efficient online operations and low fees.

Lithuania-based Revolut was also recommended by some readers on the basis of “low cost, convenience, and near spot-market rates for currency exchange”, though others mentioned having problems with money transfers.

For instance, Bob, an American national in Siracusa, Sicily said that “English, American, and Italian banks all refused to fund” his account.

Finally, Steve in Lombardy advised against opening accounts with Germany-based N26 as they “have been closing accounts in Italy and not giving back the money to customers”.

Though N26 is an active digital bank in Italy, it has been operating in a limited capacity for nearly two years following on-site inspections in late 2021 that revealed shortcomings in terms of security legislation and weaknesses in anti-laundering measures.

Readers of The Local have recently reported having their accounts shut and being locked out of their funds for no apparent reason.

Url copied to clipboard!