Ha Noi Beer Alcohol and Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (Habeco) will start trading with code BHN on the HCM Stock Exchange (HOSE) on January 19, the southern bourse announced on Wednesday.

Habeco will list its entire 231.8 million shares, equivalent to the total listing value of nearly VND2.32 trillion (US$103 million), at the reference price of VND127,600 ($5.65) per share, the bourse said in a statement. The share price is allowed to fluctuate +/-20 per cent on the first trading day.

Shares of the North’s largest brewer are trading at some VND128,000 per share on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM), which is under the management of the Ha Noi Stock Exchange.

HCM City’s exchange on December 30, 2016, approved the company’s filing to move listing from the UPCoM to HOSE.

By changing its listing to HOSE, which is the main bourse in Viet Nam with total market capitalisation of some $68 billion, Habeco is expected to improve its reputation and draw more investments.

The company has become a ‘phenomenon” on the UPCoM since its debut on October 28 last year when its price shot from an initial VND39,000 per share to a peak of VND225,800 per share on December 16.

Headquartered in Ha Noi, it is the largest beer producer in the North and the third-largest beer company in Viet Nam, with popular brands Hanoi Beer and Truc Bach Beer. It owns 17 subsidiary and six affiliated companies, with total production capacity of over 800 million litres of beer per year.

Ending September 2016, Habeco reported total combined revenues of nearly VND7.65 trillion, down 5 per cent year-on-year. Its net profit declined by a steeper 23.5 per cent year-on-year to VND960.5 trillion.

The company has not increased its charter capital from the 2008 initial public offering, which remains at over VND2.3 trillion. Its cumulative annual profits are mainly distributed to its investment and development fund, which amounted to VND2.54 trillion until September 30, 2016.

Its total equity reached nearly VND5.7 trillion, 2.5-fold times of its charter capital. — VNS