Vinamilk invites 100 per cent foreign ownership

Increasing the allowed foreign ownership ratio to 100 per cent is decided by the board of directors without the requesting shareholders’ approval.

At the same time, Vinamilk decreased the criteria for choosing foreign investors to create more favourable conditions in the approaching large government stake divestment.

The scrapping was backed by the two largest shareholders, State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), a sovereign fund holding a 45 per cent stake, and F&N Dairy Investment, which is controlled by Thai beer tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, with an 11 per cent stake.

According to Vinamilk’s Board of Directors, a specific roadmap on the expansion of foreign ownership has not been compiled. Similarly, SCIC has yet to give a timeframe for its divestment from Vinamilk.

Mai Kieu Lien, Vinamilk’s general director, said that after the sale, the most important thing left would be to decide how to remain a truly Vietnamese brand. Vinamilk is currently valued at $7.5 billion and its brand is $7 billion, thus foreign investors are interested in the sale because of Vinamilk’s brand.

In 2015, Vinamilk earned VND40 trillion ($1.78 billion) in revenue, up 14 per cent on-year, with a net profit of VND7.77 trillion ($347.3 million), up 28 per cent on-year.

The company is expecting a rise of 11 per cent in revenue and 6 per cent in profit this year.

Vinamilk currently owns 25 subsidiaries and 13 dairy production factories, employing a workforce of over 6,000 people throughout Vietnam. Vinamilk’s products are present in more than 40 countries over the world. In addition, the company holds a 22.8 per cent stake in Miraka factory in New Zealand, 70 per cent in Driftwood Dairy Holding in the US, and 51 per cent of Angkor Dairy Products Company in Cambodia.

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