Magazines Archives - 2007 October

Carlsberg embarks on new brewery venture in Vietnam
Story 14

TO step up its presence in the growing Vietnamese economy, Danish brewer Carlsberg has embarked on a joint venture with Vietnam’s Hanoi Beer and Beverage Corporation (Habeco) to build a new brewery in the country’s south.

The joint venture, Hanoi Vung Tau Joint Stock Company, is located in Vung Tau province outside Ho Chi Minh City.

Earlier this year, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry gave the thumbsup to Carlsberg as Habeco’s strategic foreign investor in light of the latter group’s upcoming privatisation. The joint venture is in line with Carlsberg’s plans to expand further into the region. “We believe growth in the future will come from Asia,” said Jesper Madsen, senior vice-president of Carlsberg Asia.

In August this year, the group announced that its sales in Asia had grown by 12% over the past six months. Group CFO Jorn Jensen added that growth will be both organic and by acquisition. Carlsberg’s sales growth in Vietnam is expected to exceed 40% to 28.1 million hectolitres over the next eight years, making the market the group’s third-largest in Asia.

Since Carlsberg’s entry into Vietnam in 1993, the group has expanded its business in the country through joint ventures with three local companies, South East Asia Brewery, Hue Brewery and Halong Brewery. It holds 60%, 50% and 30% equity in each, respectively.

In the latest partnership, the Danish brewer and Habeco will each have a 29% share in the joint venture, with external investors holding the remaining stake.