Carlsberg to Strengthen its Position in the Vietnamese Market

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the royal state visit of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark by the chairman of the Carlsberg Group, professor Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, and Hué Party Secretary, Ho Xuan Man.

5 Nov 2009 --- Carlsberg and Hué People’s Committee have signed a so-called Memorandum of Understanding in which the Committee confirms its support for Carlsberg to acquire the Committee’s 50% shareholding in Hué Brewery.

Carlsberg acquired its current 50% stake in Hué Brewery in 1994.

The brewery is market leader in the central part of Vietnam with Huda as the core brand. The brewery has two production sites with a total annual capacity of 2m hl.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed during the royal state visit of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark by the chairman of the Carlsberg Group, professor Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, and Hué Party Secretary, Ho Xuan Man.

Professor Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen, commented: “Hué Brewery is a strong company with a competent management team, a skillful and committed workforce and strong brands. The brewery has demonstrated solid sales growth for a number of years. We have had an excellent cooperation with Hué People’s Committee for many years and will continue to have so in the future. Carlsberg remains committed to investing in the future growth of Hué Brewery, its people and brands. The acquisition marks another important milestone for Carlsberg in Vietnam and will further strengthen our already strong position in the Vietnamese market.”

Carlsberg entered Vietnam in 1993 through the formation of at joint venture with Viet Ha Brewery owned by the Hanoi People’s Committee. Carlsberg owns 60% of South East Asia Brewery, which is the name of the operation. In 1994 the second Carlsberg joint venture was founded through cooperation with the Hué People’s Committee in Hué Brewery, of which Carlsberg owns 50%. In 2007 Carlsberg acquired a 30% shareholding in Halong Brewery and later in 2007 Habeco and Carlsberg jointly established a new joint venture in Vung Tau province outside of Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam. In 2008 Carlsberg was appointed strategic partner of Habeco and acquired a 16.07% shareholding in the IPO of Habeco. In June this year Carlsberg and Habeco started construction of the greenfield brewery Hanoi-Vung Tau Brewery with a yearly capacity of 500.000 hl – a step in the two partner’s plan to expand southwards. In September this year Carlsberg and Habeco signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the purpose to increase Carlsberg’s stake in Habeco from the current 16.07% up to 30%.