Vietnam Beverage eyes 25 percent Sabeco stake (Illustrative image. Source internet)Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Industry and Trade on December 11 announcedthat an investor has registered to hold at least 25 percent of the Saigon Beer,Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco), of which the Government is going tosell stake equal to nearly 5 billion USD.
Accordingto the ministry’s announcement, Vietnam Beverage Co Ltd, a unit of ThaiBeverage, has become the first investor to register to buy a large quantity ofSabeco shares at 8pm on December 11.
Under theministry’s Decision No. 4444/QD-BCT on November 17 on bidding of Sabeco shares,bidders keen to own 25 percent or more stake need to inform local authorities aweek earlier.
Asreported by local news website cafef.vn, Vietnam Beverage withcharter capital of 682 billion VND (30.3 million USD), is wholly owned byVietnam F&B Alliance Investment Company, which in turn is 49 percent ownedby BeerCo Ltd. BeerCo Ltd is a subsidiary of Thai Beverage, which is controlledby tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.
Accordingto the Government’s plan for Sabeco’s divestment, 53.59 percent stake,equivalent to nearly 343.7 million shares in the country’s largest brewery,will be sold to investors.
Theshares, coded SAB, will be auctioned at an initial price of 320,000 VND (14.04USD) each on December 18 via open competitive bidding in accordance withrelevant regulations.
At theinitial price, Sabeco’s market capitalisation will reach 205 trillion VND (9billion USD). If at least 25 percent of the company is bought, Vietnam Beveragewill have to pay 2.25 billion USD.
Foreigninvestors will be allowed to buy up to 247.47 million shares, or 38.59 percentstake in Sabeco. Foreign ownership in Sabeco is limited to a maximum of 49 percent.Currently, foreign entities already own 10 percent.
The HCMCity Securities Corporation forecasts that by the end of 2017, Sabeco’s netrevenue will total 34.6 trillion VND, up 13.4 percent year-on- year, and itspost-tax profit will reach 4.9 trillion VND, up 9.4 percent year-on-year.
In thefirst half of this year, Sabeco’s post-tax profit touched 2.5 trillion VND, up8 percent from the figure of last year’s corresponding period.-VNA
VNA
