At the recent conference, Nguyen Hong Linh, CEO of Hanoi Beer Alcohol & Beverage Joint Stock Corp. (Habeco) said that he had been disappointed by cooperation with a strategic partner Carlsberg Group.
Five years ago the Vietnamese company Habeco sold a part of its shares to the Carlsberg Group, a brewing giant from Denmark. Today, its share in the authorized capital of the Vietnamese brewery is 17.23%.
According to Mr. Linh, Carlsberg was chosen as a strategic partner out of 5 companies. According to the agreement, the Danish company was obligated to promote Habeco, to increase brewery’s market share, to transfer the required technologies and equipment, to train staff and upgrade corporate governance. Unfortunately, Carlsberg has not fulfilled its obligations and Habeco no longer considers Danish company to be its strategic shareholder.
In 2012, Habeco had to sell another 13% of its shares of Carlsberg Breweries and to bring its share to 30.23%, but the deal never took place.
Currently, the government is considering selling 51% of the shares to the largest Vietnamese brewing company Saigon Beer-Alcohol-Beverage Corporation (Sabeco). The history of Habeco will be considered in choosing strategic shareholders of Sabeco.