SABECO's annual general meeting introduced Lester Tan Teck Chuan as its new General Director from October 1. — Photo courtesy of the firm

The Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SABECO) announced the appointment of a new senior leader at its recent annual general meeting (AGM).

Lester Tan Teck Chuan has been appointed General Director of Việt Nam’s top brewer - SABECO effective from October 1, 2023.

Chuan is currently Chief Beer Business Thailand at Thai Beverage PLC, a role he assumed in 2020. He will succeed Bennett Neo Gim Siong, who will complete his five-year term as General Director and return to the head office at the end of September.

With more than 25 years of experience in the beer industry and leading various companies across multiple markets in Asia such as Thailand, Myanmar, and Singapore, he is currently senior vice president, chief beer business -Thailand for ThaiBev, which owns a 64 per cent stake in SABECO. Lester will begin as General Director of SABECO after the handover period.

Chairperson of the AGM and Board Member, Michael Chye said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bennett for his sterling contributions to SABECO during his five-year tenure as General Director. The transformation journey spearheaded by Bennett since 2018, progressing from Phase 1 to now Phase 2 leaves SABECO on a very good footing for sustainable success.”

“Some of the initiatives kick-started by Bennett included the relaunch of Bia Saigon and 333 brands in 2019, the launch of new mass premium Bia Saigon Chill in 2020, SABECO 4.0, performance-based salary restructuring as well as the brewery capacity expansion projects and the recent brewery acquisition projects were instrumental to the transformation success of SABECO, building a solid foundation for further success. In addition, Bennett is a great supporter of CSR and has championed many activities, notably the “Rise with Việt Nam” relay in 2020 where SABECO dedicated its 145th-anniversary celebratory efforts to support the vulnerabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic by joining hands with the government. Bennett will continue to lead SABECO until the end of this September and to ensure a smooth transition over to Lester,” he added.

SABECO, listed on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) as SAB, posted record profit after tax of VNĐ5.5 trillion (US$234.5 million) on net revenue of VNĐ34.98 trillion ($1.49 billion) in 2022, up 40 per cent and 32 per cent year-on-year, respectively. This was a significant achievement compared to 2021 results and after-tax profit has been the highest in the company’s history.

In 2023, SABECO has set a net revenue target of VNĐ40.27 trillion ($1.72 million) and a post-tax profit goal of VNĐ5.78 trillion ($246.2 million), up 15.1 per cent and 5 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

SABECO operates 26 breweries and 11 trading subsidiaries, while running a distribution network consisting of hundreds of thousands of retailers nationwide. Its most popular brands in Việt Nam are Lạc Việt, Saigon Chill, 333, Saigon Special, Saigon Export, Saigon Lager, and Saigon Gold. — VNS