The Australian Prime Ministere Anthony Albanese on June 3 had lunch at a restaurant in the old quarter in Hanoi where he was served traditional dishes, together with bia hoi Hanoi (Hanoi draft beer).

Bia hoi is always put in blue glasses. Frothy glasses of beer are put on large tables where many people drink, gossip and sometimes play cards.

Bia hoi has a wide range of clients, from low income workers to wealthy people. It is affordable to everyone. For just VND10,000, one can buy a large glass of beer. 

Bia hoi has existed since the subsidy period, when people had to queue up to buy beer from state-owned stores in the afternoon.

Bia hoi was named by Booking.com as a specialty that travelers should try when coming to Hanoi.

One of the most famous bia hoi products in Hanoi is Bia Ha Noi (Hanoi beer), a brand of Habeco, with a history of hundreds of years of development.

The first Bia Ha Noi bottles of beer hit the market in the 1890s. In 1958, Vietnam’s first beer bottle with Truc Bach brand was marketed, marking a milestone in the beer industry of Vietnam.

In May 2003, the then Minister of Industry, which is now the Ministry of Industry and Trade, issued a decision on establishing Hanoi Beer – Alcohol - Beverage Company. In June 2008, it became a joint stock company – Habeco. In 2017, it began listing 231.8 million shares at the HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE). 

Habeco now mostly targets the northern market, from Quang Tri province towards the north. It ranks third in Vietnam in market share, and is the biggest producer in the north. It is going ahead with the plan to conquer the southern market.

Habeco reported revenue of its major products of the holding company of VND6.938 trillion in 2022, up 21 percent compared with the year before, and pre-tax profit of VND517 billion, up 37 percent.

Market analyses all show that Vietnam is among the biggest beer consumers in the world. Vietnam-Briefing said Vietnam’s beer consumption by 2022 accounted for 2.2 percent of the global market, at 3.8 million liters a year. 

As Vietnam is an attractive market, it is eyed by many foreign investors. In December 2017, Thai ThaiBev spent nearly $5 billion to acquire 53.6 percent of shares of Sabeco, the brewer with 150 years of existence, which was owned by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT).

After five years of falling into Thai hands, Sabeco began reaping fruit thanks to market expansion strategies. Established in the south, it now covers the entire country.

Its 2022 financial report showed that its net revenue reached VND34.979 trillion and post-tax profit VND5.5 trillion, up 32 percent and 40 percent, respectively, over 2021.

Local liquor, wine products

As Vietnam opens its economy to the world, foreign liquor has been flooding into the Vietnamese market through different ways. Lua Moi (new crop rice) liquor, and Hanoi Vodka and wine bottles are no longer present in Vietnamese families, while long lasting brands in the alcohol industry have been forgotten.

Halico, the largest alcohol producer with a 100-year history in Vietnam, reported a loss of VND16.63 billion in 2022.

The company continued to take a loss in the first quarter of 2023 with sales of VND30 billion, down VND30.9 billion year on year, and post-tax profit of minus VND1.2 billion.

Thang Long Wine, the once famous brand, has become uncompetitive with imports. It reported net revenue of VND3.5 billion in Q1/2023, down 87 percent and losses of VND4 billion, raising the accumulated loss to VND66.9 billion.

The golden days of Thang Long Wine, 2006-2010, when its revenue increased year after year and the post-tax profit was stable at VND5-6 billion, were over. The Hanoi Stock Exchange has put Thang Long Wine shares on the restricted trading list.

Manh Ha