ThaiBev considers Viet Nam a key market
Thai Beverage, Thailand's biggest drinks company, is focusing on Viet Nam as one of its key markets in ASEAN as the company aims to become the region's market leader by 2025.
Thai Beverage (ThaiBev), Thailand's biggest beverage company, is focusing on Viet Nam as one of its key markets in ASEAN as the company aims to become the region's market leader by 2025.
Its main other markets in the bloc were Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, the Bangkok Post cited ThaiBev president and chief executive Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi as saying.
Viet Nam, Myanmar and Thailand, with a combined population of 220 million, would be the company's major focus for expansion, Thapana told the newspaper.
The Singapore-listed company plans to spend seven billion baht (US$230 million) next year to renovate 25-year-old breweries and increase sales in the next six years
"Some of the investment budget in 2020 will be for Sabeco, the brewer of Saigon beer in Viet Nam that we acquired in 2017, to reduce debt and financial costs," he said.
Due to the sensitive global economy, the company would focus on healthier drink choices and tap into ASEAN countries which were considered huge markets thanks to robust economic growth and large populations.
In 2018, ThaiBev was the largest beverage firm in ASEAN and ranked fifth in Asia by market cap with US$18 billion, and the sixth by net sales with $5.85 billion, according to the Bangkok Post.
The beverage market value in ASEAN totals $50 billion, while economic growth is strong with a projected 54 per cent rise from $3.09 trillion in 2019 to $4.76 trillion in 2025. — VNS
