HMC City (VNA) - Vietnam’s State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) will auction a 9 percent stake in the Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamiꦇlk) in 📖a public auction next month.

The information was announced at a roadshow held by the SCIC in cooperation with the HCM Stock Exchange and Vinamilk on November 21 in HCM City. The SCIC holds the Government’s 45 percent stake in Vinamilk, one of the most highly rated stocks, and foreign investors have for long been interested in it thanks to its strong prospects and expansion plans. Vinamilk is a giant brand with high value, said SCIC deputy director general Hoang Nguyen Hoc With the company’s market value of 9 billion USD, the 9 percent offering would be one of the largest in Asia this year, he noted. But the minimum price has yet to be determined. General information about the divestment process and procedures related to registering, escrow and others was presented at the event. Information about the sale will be announced on November 23, Hoc said. The SCIC would not select strategic investors, meaning all domestic and foreign investors with strong financial capability can buy. Established in 1976, Vinamilk has been growing at 20.5 percent on average for the last five years, while its revenues were worth 1.8 billion USD last year, with exports accounting for 20 percent. The company has a 51.8 percent share of the country’s fresh milk market and a whopping 79.4 percent and 84.1 percent of the condensed milk and yogurt markets. Mai Kieu Lien, Vinamilk’s CEO, said with annual per capita milk consumption in Vietnam remaining low compared to other countries coupled with 1.2 million babies being born each year, the dairy sector has plenty of room to grow in the coming years.-VNA