9/7/2018 – F&N Dairy Investments, a subsidiary of Fraser & Neave (F&N) Limited based in Singapore has registered to purchase additional shares in Vinamilk, the largest dairy firm in Vietnam.
The firm currently owns 17.31 percent stake in Vinamilk and plans to buy another 14.5 million shares in Vinamilk, equivalent to 1 percent charter capital of the dairy firm.
If successful, the proposed transaction will push F&N Dairy Investment’s shareholding in Vinamilk to 265.7 million shares, or 18.31 percent.
F&N Dairy Investments is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fraser & Neave, a group backed by Thai tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi. The firm is currently the second largest shareholder with 20 percent, after State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) that has 36 percent ownership.
F&N Dairy Investments had previously failed to buy the additional shares between June 6 and July 5 due to unfavorable market conditions. The firm is expected to pay out over VND2.3 trillion (about US$101.2 million) to increase its stake in Vinamilk.
In related news, Platinum Victory, the subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson has also expressed its intention of purchasing 14.51 million Vinamilk shares to increase its stake in the Vietnamese firm to over 11 percent.
Jardine had last year acquired a total of 5.53 percent stake in Vinamilk, through two successive transactions for an aggregate investment of US$616.6 million. The firm had also earlier picked up 3.33 percent stake in Vinamilk in its equity auction in November last year.
Vietnam’s dairy industry posted revenue of more than VND 100 trillion (about US$4.4 billion) last year, an increase of 10 percent over the previous year, with Vinamilk commanding a market share of more than 50 percent, according to the latest statistics.
Moving forward, Vinamilk set its revenue target in 2018 at VND 55.5 trillion (about US$2.4 billion), that is an 8.5 percent increase from last year.
According to EU-Vietnam Business Network’s report, the Vietnamese local dairy market is expected to double its size by 2020, reaching US$ 8.2 billion as the country’s population, personal income, and dairy consumption increases,
