Heineken sold 5.2 million ordinary shares of Saigon Beer – Alcohol – Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (HoSE: SAB), reducing its ownership to 2.47 million shares or 0.39 percent of shares. Luu Van Dat reports on Nhip Cau Dau Tu.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, after reducing its ownership to less than 5 percent, Heineken is no longer a major shareholder of Sabeco from November 15, 2019.
Including related persons, after this transaction, Heineken reduced its ownership to 27.67 million shares, representing 4.32% of total shares. Related persons are holding more than 25.3 million shares, or 3.93% stake.
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The trading session took place when SAB shares underwent 12 consecutive unchanged or falling trading sessions, standing around VND252,000 ($10.8) per share, a decrease of over 8.5% in the previous quarter.
After this transaction, major shareholders of Sabeco are ThaiBev’s Vietnam Beverage, with 53.59% and Ministry of Industry and Trade holding 36% stakes.
Sabeco reported third quarter revenue of $421 million, up more than 14% from a year ago. The beer firm recorded a net profit in the third quarter at $62.6 million, up from $44.4 million over the same period last year.
Bottles of beer move along a production line at a factory of Saigon Beer Corporation (Sabeco) in Vietnam. @ Reuters.
Currently, Sabeco holds 40% of the domestic market share. In the nine-month period, Sabeco sold 4.4 billion liters of beer in the market. Thaibev plans to raise the market share to 45% and the ratio would be higher in 2021.
Vietnam is the third largest beer consuming country in Asia, after China and Japan. Beer sales in Vietnam have increased by 6.6% for six consecutive years, far exceeding the global increase of 0.2%. Beer accounts for 95% of total alcohol consumption in Vietnam, according to Euromonitor International, a market research firm.
By Luu Van Dat @ Nhip Cau Dau Tu.