Sabeco applies for listing on HCM City stock exchange

Viet Nam's largest brewer Sai Gon Alcohol, Beer and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco), known for its iconic Saigon and 333 brands, has filed a listing application to the HCM Stock Exchange, eight years after its initial public offering in January 2008. — illustration photo

The company's decision took into account its listing standards, market size and reputation, liquidity and investor interest of the two national stock exchanges, in which the HCM Stock Exchange gains an upper hand over the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

The listing timetable, as well as the reference price for the first trading day remains unclear, but Sabeco expects to finalise these issues by the end of this month.

Late in September, the Ministry of Industry and Trade approved Sabeco's listing on the HCM City's exchange and requested that the beer producer select a consulting firm to perform the listing procedures.

The listing of local beer producers has attracted big investor s'attention over the last two months after the Government urged equitised State-owned companies to list shares on the stock exchange.

On October 28, 2016, Ha Noi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation, known as Habeco, debuted its almost 232 million shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), the concentrated market under the management of the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

Habeco's stock prices have steadily risen from VND39,000 (US$1.75) per share on the first trading day to VND125,900 yesterday.

Meanwhile, shares of Sabeco are trading on the Over The Counter (OTC) Market at the price of over VND130,000 per share, up 80 per cent over the price recorded in August.

Analysts expect Sabeco's stock price to be around VND110,000 to VND125,000 per share. With a total listing of 641 million shares, the company's market value is estimated at VND70-80 trillion ($3-3.6 billion).

Sabeco consolidated its reputation as the top beer producer in Viet Nam with nine-month revenues of over VND21.8 trillion, up 9 per cent year-on-year, of which sales of beer made up 86 per cent of total sales, equivalent to VND18.8 trillion, or 1.2 billion litres of beer.

Its consolidated after-tax profits reached nearly VND3.7 trillion, of which the parent company earned VND3.2 trillion, up 27 per cent year-on-year and completing its target for the whole year.

The State now holds 89.6 per cent of Sabeco's charter capital and it earlier planned to divest in two phases. The first tranche of stake sale will be 53.6 per cent of ownership and be conducted by the end of this year while the remaining 36 per cent will be transferred next year.