Vietnam: Sabeco to be officially listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on December 6

On December 6, Vietnam's largest brewer Saigon Alcohol, Beer and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) will be officially listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, eight years after its initial public offering in January 2008, VietNamNet Bridge reported on November 29.

According to newswire Vneconomy, 641 million Sabeco shares, representing a chartered capital of VND6.41 trillion ($286.67 million), will be available for trading at the initial reference unit price of VND110,000 ($4.84) under the ticker SAB.

After the listing, Sabeco’s capitalisation is expected to reach VND70 trillion ($3.13 billion), propelling it into the ranks of the top five enterprises on the HoSE in terms of capitalisation, following Vinamilk, Vietcombank, PV Gas and Vingroup.

Earlier, on September 26, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved Sabeco’s proposal to list on the HoSE. Listing on a stock exchange was an imperative condition for state divestment from Sabeco.

Sabeco consolidated its reputation as the top beer producer in Vietnam with a nine-month revenue of over VND21.8 trillion ($974.95 million), up 9 per cent on-year, of which beer made up 86 per cent of total sales, equivalent to VND18.8 trillion ($840.78 million), or 1.2 billion litres of beer.

Its consolidated after-tax profit reached nearly VND3.66 trillion ($165.47 million), up 19.7 per cent on-year. The consolidated after-tax profit of the parent company alone reached VND3.55 trillion ($158.76 million), up 18.6 per cent on-year.

The state now holds 89.6 per cent of Sabeco's chartered capital and earlier planned to divest in two phases. The first phase will be implemented in 2016, offering a 53.59 per cent stake worth VND24.5 trillion ($1.09 billion) for investors, while the remaining 36 per cent, worth VND16 trillion ($715.56 million), will be sold in 2017.

30 November, 2016