SAB Miller, the world’s third-largest brewer, announced in January its intention to establish a brewery in Vietnam through a 50:50 joint venture with Vinamilk, Vietnam’s leading dairy products company. The $45 million venture will be based near Ho Chi Minh City and will make use of Vinamilk’s extensive distribution network. The aim is to develop a Vietnamese beer brand that will be supported by a premium SAB Miller brand.
SAB Miller is the latest multinational to establish in Vietnam amid growing signs that the communist country is at last embracing market reforms. Although the joint venture is not the first foreign brewery in the country, Vietnam is the fastest-growing beer market in Asia after China.