Government to divest from Vinamilk in 2016
Government to divest from Vinamilk in 2016
The government will divest its 45.1 per cent stake in Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) in 2016.
The decision was announced by Dang Quyet Tien, deputy director of the Department of Corporate Finance under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), at a press briefing on September 14, according to information published on the MoF’s website.
However, Tien did not disclose further details about the divestment. He only said that State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) is building the concrete plan to submit to the MoF and the Prime Minister. Tien added that the state ownership in Vinamilk is huge, valued at nearly VND100 trillion ($4.46 billion), thus the divestment will need to be divided into numerous phases.
Earlier in July, the State Securities Committee (SSC) agreed with Vinamilk’s proposal to increase its foreign ownership limit to 100 per cent.
After the SSC’s decision, Fraser & Neave Ltd. (F&N), the owner of Vinamilk’s 11 per cent stake, announced its ambition to acquire more shares as a part of its plans to expand its presence in Southeast Asia. The move is expected to enhance F&N’s competitive capacity with the two largest US soft drink giants in Southeast Asia, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co.
F&N’s chief executive officer confirmed that the corporation will follow further developments and lay an emphasis on the acquisition of sufficient shares.
Vinamilk is one of the ten leading state-owned enterprises (SOEs) that SCIC will assost to sell the state’s holdings.
The nine other enterprises are Bao Minh Insurance Corp, Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation, and Tien Phong Plastic JSC, as well as Binh Minh Plastic JSC, Vietnam Property and Infrastructure JSC, FPT Corp, and FPT Telecom, along with Ha Giang Mineral Mechanics JSC and Sa Giang Import Export Co.
The divestment from these nine SOEs will be started in early 2017.
