The first phase of divestment from Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) may be pushed back to next year.

It was announced by Vo Thanh Ha, chairman of the Board of Management of Sabeco, at the listing ceremony on December 6 in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Sabeco has a large capitalisation volume, with nearly 90 per cent owned by the state, equalling VND40 trillion ($1.76 billion). Thus, we aim to ensure transparency during the divestment progress. Building the plan is complex, with numerous stages, which may require that the divestment not be carried out this year,” Ha stated.

Ha added that Sabeco will submit the divestment route to the Ministry of Industry and Trade before December 17.

Previously, the state planned to carry out the first phase of the divestment in 2016, a 53.59 per cent stake worth VND24.5 trillion ($1.09 billion) up for sale, while the remaining 36 per cent, worth VND16 trillion ($715.56 million), would have been sold in 2017.

On December 6, Vietnam's largest brewer Sabeco was officially listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), eight years after its initial public offering in January 2008.

Accordingly, 641 million Sabeco shares, representing a chartered capital of VND6.41 trillion ($286.67 million), are available for trading at the initial reference unit price of VND110,000 ($4.84) under the ticker SAB.

After the listing, Sabeco’s capitalisation is expected to reach VND70 trillion ($3.13 billion), propelling it into the ranks of the top five enterprises on the HoSE in terms of capitalisation, following Vinamilk, Vietcombank, PV Gas, and Vingroup.

Vietnam’s largest brewer, Sabeco currently has 24 beer production factories across the country, with a total capacity of 1.8 billion litres per year.

VIR