Sees continued COVID impact, notably in Asia, Africa Higher commodity costs to start hitting in second half BRUSSELS, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Dutch brewing giant Heineken (HEIN.AS) expects the COVID-19 pandemic to weigh on key Asian markets for the rest of the year and rising costs to dent margins, it said after posting a better than expected doubling of first-half earnings on Monday Chief Executive Dolf van den Brink, who has been at the helm of the world's second-largest brewer for a year, said the company was pleased with the strong first half, but expressed caution, with results expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2021 as a whole.