![Vietnam to sell entire stakes in sought-after breweries Vietnam to sell entire stakes in sought-after breweries](https://ukinvestormagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/shutterstock_452144110-768x512.jpg)
The Vietnamese government has announced plans to sell all its stakes in the country’s two main breweries, after months of speculation.
The government will fully divest from the makers of its three main beer brands, Ha Noi, Saigon and 333, as part of a plan to raise $2.2 billion over 16 months. The stakes will be open to both domestic and international investors, and have already attracted interest from Thailand’s main brewer ThaiBev and Singha beer maker Boon Rawd Brewery.
Beer is the top drink in Vietnam and has seen consumption rising 40 percent in just five years, making it one of Asia’s top beer markets.
The Vietnamese government need the money from the sales to pump into its worn infrastructure, after rock-bottom oil prices hurt the country’s revenue. The National Financial Supervisory Commission has warned that the budget deficit for 2016 may exceed the planned ratio of 4.95 percent of GDP.
The sale of stakes in the breweries has been on the cards since the 1990s, with little headway being made since.