Vietnam to sell majority stake in Sabeco

The Vietnamese government has approved a plan to sell a majority stake of its state-owned Sabeco beer, the leading brewery in the country with a 40% market share.

According to a government document viewed by Reuters, the government plans to sell 53.59% of its stake in the brewery, whose products include the country’s popular ‘Saigon’ and ‘333’ beer brands.

Vietnam currently ranks as the biggest beer consumer in Southeast Asia, with its per capita beer consumption expected to reach 40.6 litres this year, thanks to its large young population base and expanding middle class, according to figures from Euromonitor

The sale is in line with the Vietnamese government’s resolution to privatise state-owned companies from mining to aviation by 2020.

Last year, the government announced its intention to sell stakes in Habeco, another leading brewery in the country.

Sabeco, the country’s second-biggest listed firm by market value, is capable of producing 1.8 billion litres of beer a year, according to the company’s annual report.