AB InBev, Asahi among suitors for Vietnam's biggest brewery

HO CHI MINH CITY (Sept 8): The world's largest brewers from Europe to Asia are lining up for a chance to buy a stake in Vietnam's top beer-maker, in a deal worth at least US$1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) as consumption in the South-east Asian country surges.

Dutch brewer Heineken NV, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and its merger partner SABMiller Plc, as well as Japan's Asahi Group Holdings and Kirin Holdings Co are among seven foreign companies that have registered to bid for stakes in Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp, also known as Sabeco, its chief executive officer Le Hong Xanh said.

"Sabeco doesn't care if the buyer is an international or domestic company," Xanh said in an interview at the company's Ho Chi Minh City headquarters.

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