The shares were sold at VND320,000 apiece (US$14) to Vietnam Beverage Co Ltd and an individual investor at an auction on December 18.
Earlier on December 17, the MOIT announced that no foreign investors registered to buy the state stake in Sabeco, which is listed on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange under the symbol SAB.
Vietnam Beverage Co Ltd, which sought to buy 343.66 million shares, had deposited 10% of the deal or US$484 million, while the individual investor also deposited VND640 million (US$28,000) in order to buy 20,000 shares of Sabeco.
As of 16h00 on December 17, the deadline for auction registration, investors signed up to buy a total of 343.68 million shares, equivalent to 53.6% of Sabeco’s capital and 20,000 shares higher than the MOIT’s offering.
Head of the MOIT’s Department of Industries Truong Thanh Hoai said that Sabeco has drawn particular interest from investors on the stock market since it currently accounts for 40.9%, the largest share of Vietnam’s beer market, which has seen dramatic growth in recent years.
