E-Malt.com News article: Vietnam: Habeco to list on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange on January 19

Hanoi Beer Alcohol and Beverage, or Habeco, will list on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) on Jan. 19 with 231 million shares at 127,600 dong ($5.63) apiece, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on January 12.

The offering price is almost three times higher than Habeco's first listing on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) in October. It is also higher than the offering price of the largest beer producer, Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverages, or Sabeco, which last month listed its shares at 110,000 dong apiece.

Ahead of the HOSE listing, Habeco shares closed on January 11 slightly up at 128,000 dong on UPCoM.

Beer consumption in Vietnam reached 3.8 billion litres in 2015, and the industry is projecting annual growth of 4-5% for the next five years.

Habeco had almost 22% of the market by volume in 2014 and 2013, but this fell back to 19.8% with 668 million litres in 2015. In 2015, Sabeco held 41% of the market with 1.38 billion litres, while Heineken had nearly 22% with 729 million litres, according to the Vietnam Beverage Association.

Despite having 23 subsidiaries and affiliates, Habeco's declining market share has been attributed to ineffective marketing and distribution by Thu Le, an analyst at Saigon Securities Research. There have also been increases in sales and management expenses. Habeco's revenue in the first three quarters of 2016 declined 5% to 7.6 trillion dong, 70.4% of the full-year target, while net profit fell 21.4% to 730 billion dong.

Carlsberg, the fourth largest brewer in Vietnam, has 17% of Habeco, and Heineken has 5% of Sabeco.

Vietnam's two largest state-owned breweries are being listed on the main bourse within a month of each other. The government, which still owns nearly 82% of Habeco and 90% of Sabeco, has formed a ministry of industry and trade steering committee to oversee the brewery divestments.

Sabeco shares closed at 211,000 dong on January 12, a 92% increase since December.


12 January, 2017