VietNamNet Bridge - Thai Beverage and Singha both want to purchase shares of Vietnam's largest brewer, the Saigon Brewery Corporation (SABECO).

Thai Beverage wants to buy a 40% stake in SABECO. The company offered VND80,000 ($4) per share, 60% higher than the price on the over-the-counter market, Wall Street Journal quoted an official at the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade as saying. Currently the government owns 89% of Sabeco.

The official also said that another Thai group - Singha, which runs Singha Beer – was also interested in Sabeco shares. However, he did not disclose more details of Singha’s proposal.

The official only revealed that ThaiBev officials had met with Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang to discuss the deal with Sabeco. Hoang advised ThaiBev to talk with the President of Sabeco - Phan Dang Tuat.

However, the decision will depend on Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. According to this official, Tuat had not met with ThaiBev.

Vietnam is an attractive market to foreign investors, due to huge growth potential in the beer segment.

According to Euromonitor, last year, Thai people consumed 1.93 billion liters of beer, down from 1.97 billion liters in 2013.

Meanwhile, the figure in Vietnam rose by 8% to 3.2 billion liters.

Euromonitor predicted the amount of beer consumed in Vietnam will increase by 9% this year to 3.88 billion liters. Meanwhile, the figure in Thailand will continue to fall to 1.89 billion liters.

Sabeco currently controls nearly 46% of the beer market in Vietnam. ThaiBev is owned by the third richest man in Thailand, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. Previously, Berli Jucker, owned by this billionaire, acquired the Metro Cash&Carry supermarket chain Vietnam last August for 655 million euros ($848 million).

Singha Beer brand was created by the Bhirombhakdi family, who opened the first beer factory in Thailand in the 1930s.

S. Nam