Vietnam-based leading brewer Sabeco pushes ahead with $32 mln expansion at HCMC plant

Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered Sabeco, controlled by Thai Beverage, is sticking to plans to expand capacity at its Cu Chi brewery despite repeated regulatory delays.

According to its latest environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, Sabeco (HoSE: SAB) is seeking approval to raise the HCMC-based plant’s annual capacity to 350 million liters from 264 million.

The expansion, with an estimated investment of VND855 billion ($32.4 million), also includes construction of rental workshops for production, Sabeco said.

Sabeco has pursued the upgrade for several years. The brewer first filed an EIA in 2020, but the submission was returned for revisions. The plan was shelved during the pandemic before being resubmitted and also rejected in 2023. In June 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment again disapproved the proposal and requested further amendments.

The 50-hectare Cu Chi facility, designed in 2002 and completed in 2007, currently produces about 264 million liters annually, including 118 million liters of bottled beer and 146 million liters of canned beer. The proposed expansion would lift canned beer output to 250 million liters while reducing bottled production to 100 million liters.

Actual output has consistently fallen short of design capacity, with 179 million liters produced in 2023 and 167 million liters in 2024. Production is expected to recover to 211 million liters in 2025, the company said.

Sabeco expects to secure approvals in the fourth quarter of 2025, with construction running through early 2027.

Sabeco reported VND2.05 trillion ($78.41 million) in net profit in the first half of this year, down 12.5% year-on-year, according to its earnings statement.

During H1, the brewer recorded nearly VND12.62 trillion ($482.69 million) in revenue from sales and services, down 17% year-on-year. As of end-June, the company had fulfilled 40% of its full-year revenue target and 42% of its profit goal.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, SAB shares closed down 0.32% to VND46,600 ($1.77) each on Thursday.