More than 641.28 million shares of the Sai Gon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation were listed on December 6 on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

The reference price was VND110,000 (US$4.8) and it did not take long for the share to hit the day’s ceiling price of VND132,000 and remain there.

With almost no one seeking to offload the shares, only 3,010 were traded during the session.

Sabeco has a charter capital of over VND6.41 trillion and market capitalisation on the opening day of VND70.5 trillion, making it one of the five largest listed firms in Viet Nam.

It is the largest beer producer in the country with a 41 per cent market share last year as sales topped 1.46 billion litres.

In the first 11 months of this year Sabeco’s pre-tax profit was VND5.035 trillion, up 12.2 per cent year-on-year, on revenues of VND28.3 trillion, up 11.3 per cent.

Vo Thanh Ha, the company’s chairman, said besides focusing on expanding its distribution system in the domestic market, the company is also keen to promote exports.

Sabeco’s products are available in more than 27 countries and territories in the world, including choosy markets like the US, EU, Japan, and Australia, he said.

Beer consumption in Viet Nam reached 3.8 billion litres last year, and the industry expects annual growth of 4- 5 per cent in the next five years, according to the Viet Nam Beverage Association. — VNS