CATEGORIES

© Copyright 2004; Hanoitimes - Economic and Urban Newspaper;

The tribune of Hanoi People’s Committee

Publication Permit: 29/GP-CBC

Editor - in - Chief: Nguyen Thanh Loi

Managing Editor: Ta Thu Giang

Email : thugiang@hanoitimes.vn

Head Office: 21 Huynh Thuc Khang Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi

Branch Office: 221 Tran Phu Street, Ha Dong District, Hanoi

WORDS ON THE STREET 70th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day Vietnam - Asia 2023 Smart City Summit Hanoi celebrates 15 years of administrative boundary adjustment 12th Vietnam-France decentrialized cooperation conference 31st Sea Games - Vietnam 2021 Covid-19 Pandemic
Home / Investment / News
Vietnam’s government approved divestment plan at Sabeco
Nguyen Tung 18:30, 2017/11/15
​The Ministry of Industry & Trade (MoIT) announced the plan to divest the government fund from Sabeco, formally known as Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage JSC.
The Vietnamese government, which owns 89 percent in Sabeco, aims to complete a stake sale in the country’s biggest brewer Sabeco in December, the trade ministry said, in the clearest signal yet that the long-awaited state divestment might happen this year after repeated delays.
 
Sabeco, one of the two biggest local brewers in Viet Nam.
Sabeco, one of the two biggest local brewers in Viet Nam.
Sabeco, the country’s second-biggest listed firm by market value, is a key plank of the government’s broader privatization effort, which includes dairy firm Vinamilk, Vietnam Airlines and rival brewer Habeco (known as Hanoi Alcohol Beer Beverage JSC). While the trade ministry did not give details on how much stake in Sabeco would be sold, it said the sale was expected to be worth trillions of dong and would be conducted as a public auction, similar to the Vinamilk stake sale process. As such, the auction is implemented in principle of transparency, clarity and ensure the maximum benefit of the state. The starting price, the size of the sale and how much foreigners are allowed to buy will be announced later, it added.

Vietnam has one of the world’s most attractive beer markets and the biggest in Southeast Asia, thanks to a young population that consumed nearly 4 billion litres in 2016. To tap into this, many foreign brewers from Kirin to Heineken have been looking to invest in Sabeco, the maker of the Bia Saigon and 333 brews, since it was earmarked for privatization.

The government wants to fully divest from Sabeco and smaller brewer Habeco and has been striving to trim stakes in other state-owned enterprises, many of which have low profitability, but the progress has been slow given the small sizes offered, sizeable state control and concerns about vested interests. A spike in Sabeco’s share price due to high demand and a small float has also complicated matters, making it difficult for industry buyers or other investors to step in.

The stock closed at 274,200 dong on Tuesday, nearly 150 percent above its December listing price of 110,000 dong. Sabeco expects its third-quarter net profit to drop 9.5 percent from a year ago. Its profits over January-September rose an estimated 1.64 percent to 3.7 trillion dong ($163 million). 

Previously, in order to speed up the divestment process in the remaining months of 2017, representative of the Ministry of Finance said, the Ministry will recommend the MoIT responsible for divestment of the state fund in two brewers, Saigon Alcohol Beer Beverage JSC (SABECO) and Hanoi Alcohol Beer Beverage JSC (HABECO) to be completed and transferred the state fund to the Support Fund for Enterprise Reorganization and Development before December 1, 2017. In case MoIT cannot announce the prospectus for divestments in the two companies by that deadline, the ministry should seek the Prime Minister’s instruction on handing over the State capital ownership to SCIC. 

The divestment of Sabeco and Habeco, the two biggest local brewers in Viet Nam, has attracted significant attention in the market. MoIT holds 89.59 per cent of Sabeco’s charter capital and is expected to sell 53.59 per cent. In Habeco, the ministry plans to offload its entire holding of 81.79 per cent. Sabeco is the leading beer producer in terms of market share, holding 40 per cent of local beer consumption. Heineken came second, with a 25 per cent market share, followed by Habeco, with 18 per cent.
Comments
Other news
14:43, 2024/11/18
Aircraft manufacturer Embraer seeks comprehensive aviation partnership with Vietnam
The Vietnamese leader urges the aircraft manufacturer to collaborate on technology transfer, airport construction and operation, research, and investment in Vietnam.
21:55, 2024/10/22
Better links with FDI firms to support Hanoi businesses
Hanoi will continue to focus on quality projects, especially with partners such as Japan, the United States, and Europe to boost technology transfer.
15:24, 2024/09/24
Vietnam calls for more US investment in innovation, hi-tech
The Vietnamese leader called on relevant agencies to resolve any challenges faced by investors and enhance the investment climate to encourage greater US investment in Vietnam.
14:13, 2024/09/23
Vietnamese leader urges Boeing to build production facility in Vietnam
Boeing is committed to continuing to support the development of Vietnam's aviation ecosystem, focusing on aviation infrastructure, human resources training, airport construction, and aircraft maintenance facilities.
14:38, 2024/09/17
Foreign capital pouring into Vietnam's real estate market
Experts are optimistic that the 2024 Land Law, once enacted, will help resolve legal bottlenecks and attract more FDI.