Vietnam state investor to sell 3.33 pct of Vinamilk on Nov. 10 (updated)

Fraser and Neave

16/10/2017 06:51

* Starting price likely 7-10 days prior to sale 
    * No purchase cap for individual buyers 
    * Sale could fetch around $300 million 
 
 (Add details of December sale, privatisation push) 
    By Mai Nguyen 
    HANOI, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Vietnam's state investor on Monday 
said it plans to sell 3.33 percent of Vietnam Dairy Products JSC 
(Vinamilk)  VNM.HM  on Nov. 10, without the restrictions that 
applied to a similar sale last year when only a portion of the 
offering sold. 
    Vinamilk, Vietnam's biggest listed firm by market value, is 
among a handful of state assets to attract significant interest 
from foreign investors as the government works to reform 
state-owned enterprises. 
    A starting price is likely to be announced seven to 10 days 
prior to the sale date, State Capital Investment Corp Chairman 
Nguyen Duc Chi said at a media briefing. Chi previously said the 
sale could fetch 6.5 trillion dong to 7 trillion dong  ($286 
million to $308 million).  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1KQ357 
    The November sale will be absent of some of the restrictions 
applied to last year's sale, such as a purchase cap on each 
individual investor, Chi said. 
    In December, the state investor offered to sell 9 percent of 
Vinamilk but sold only 5.4 percent to two investors - both units 
of existing shareholder Fraser and Neave Ltd  FRNM.SI . 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1E72OT 
    Investors looking to gain a degree of control over Vinamilk 
were also deterred by the size of stake on offer. The government 
initially planned to sell its entire 44.7 percent stake. 
    The government now owns 39.34 percent. If the November sale 
is successful, its stake will fall to 36 percent - enough to 
retain veto rights. 
    The government is trying to divest from hundreds of 
state-owned enterprises, including brewers Hanoi Beer Alcohol 
and Beverage JSC (Habeco)  BHN.HM  and Saigon Beer Alcohol 
Beverage Corp (Sabeco)  SAB.HM  where it owns $7.8 billion worth 
of shares by market value. 
     
($1 = 22,717 dong) 
 
    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
Vietnam plans up to $310 mln Vinamilk share sale in Oct    
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1KQ357 
Vinamilk share sale sees F&N lift stake but fails to attract 
other buyers     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1E72OT 
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> 
 (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Christopher Cushing) 
 ((mai.nguyen@thomsonreuters.com; +8424 3825 9623; Reuters 
Messaging: mai.nguyen.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: VINAMILK SALE/