Vietnam: Country’s two biggest breweries to be equalized next year

Vietnam's two breweries will complete their equalization plans and then make initial public offerings (IPOs) in the first quarter of next year, local newspaper Vietnam Investment Review reported, according to Xinhua, December 17.

The Saigon Brewery Corporation (Sabeco) would not choose a foreign strategic partner for its IPO, but the Hanoi Brewery Corporation (Habeco) would, said deputy minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu.

He said Carlsberg was chosen as Habeco's foreign strategic investor, and would come in for a 10-percent stake in the northern beer maker. Meanwhile, Sabeco will sell off 20 percent of its chartered capital at its IPO.

Sabeco, Vietnam's biggest brewery, has a chartered capital of 6.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (VND) (400 million U.S. dollars), and Habeco 2.3 trillion VND (nearly 143.8 million dollars). This year, Sabeco is estimated to make total revenues of over eight trillion VND (500 million dollars), and Habeco nearly 2.5 trillion VND (some 156 million dollars).

Vietnam is estimated to consume over two billion liters of beer and alcohol in 2010, up from 1.7 billion liters in 2007, the newspaper said.

19 December, 2007