Government to sell down shares in brewer Sabeco
Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade has apparently submitted plans to the Prime Minister for approval, which will see the government’s share in the Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage company (Sabeco) cut to 36 percent, local media reported in March 2015.
The government currently controls 89 percent of Sabeco, which is the country’s major brewer with a market share of about 42 percent.
According to Vietnamese media, Sabeco’s chairman Phan Dang Tuat said: “All the shares will be auctioned. But we haven’t decided on a price yet.”
The news will excite local and foreign investors, many of whom have been waiting for further shares to become available since Sabeco went public in 2008.
There are reports that alongside three Vietnamese companies, Japan’s brewer Asahi, Heineken and SAB Miller are all interested. Heineken already holds a small stake in Sabeco (see Brauwelt INTERNATIONAL 1/2015 for a report on Vietnam, headlined “Déjà vu in Saigon”).
Vietnam is one of the biggest beer markets in Asia and growing at 10 percent annually. Sabeco, which brews Vietnam’s biggest label “Saigon”, reported sales revenue of about USD 1.4 billion last year, with a pre-tax profit of USD 172 million.
Competition for shares could be fierce as the Ministry - reportedly – will only allow one or two companies to join the auction.
As to how much the shares are worth, well last year ThaiBev offered to buy Sabeco for about USD 2 billion, which was turned down by the company saying it was worth more than that. True, when Sabeco sold an 11 percent stake in 2007, it was valued at USD 2.6 billion. Wait and see.
