Singha Asia in $1bn Vietnam Masan Group deal

Keen to gain a foothold in Vietnam and target the “emerging middle class”, Singha Asia Holdings has bought stakes in Vietnam’s Masan Group in a deal worth $1.1bn.

Singha beer is Thailand’s top-selling beer brand

The Singapore-based company which is owned by Thailand’s Boon Rawd Brewery hopes to capitalize on the increasingly affluent, younger consumer market in Vietnam and has bought 25% of Masan Consumer and 33.3% of Masan Brewery, according to Reuters.

Although the deal was signed in late December, it not expected to be finalized until later this month, Palit Bhirombhakdi, the CEO of Singha Asia Holdings said in a statement.

Bhirombhakdi went on to say, “Masan’s extensive distribution platform touching every corner of Vietnam will help Singha reach a market of 90 million people that is expanding quickly.”

Vietnam is one of the biggest beer markets in Asia – the third largest after Japan and China – and has been eyed as a potentially lucrative market by international beer companies, especially since the government started auctioning off its shares in Vietnam’s biggest brewery, Sabeco to foreign investors in March last year.

Masan Group is one of Vietnam’s biggest companies and operates Masan Brewery through its 100% owned Masan Consumer Holdings.

“The list of products and operating platform of Singha could help promote the growth of Masan in both Vietnam and other markets in the region,” said Seokhee Won, deputy CEO of Masan Group.