What makes Viet Ha Brewery attractive to investors?

Despite posting relatively modest business results, Viet Ha Investment and Trading JSC has attracted strong investor interest thanks to its large cash holdings, extensive land bank and a portfolio of real estate projects in Hanoi.

The Hanoi Stock Exchange recently announced the results of an auction of more than 39.2 million shares in the company, formerly traded under ticker VHI, which were owned by the Hanoi People’s Committee.

Nine investors, including one institutional investor and eight individuals, won the auction, with the total value of shares sold reaching nearly VND852.6 billion dong ($32.35 million).

Prior to the auction, the exchange said 13 investors had registered to purchase a combined 86.35 million shares, around 2.2 times the volume offered.

Notably, VHI shares were delisted from the unlisted public companies market (UPCoM) in April 2022. Nevertheless, the company drew investor attention due to its sizable asset base and member companies which are long-established brands.

Viet Ha traces its origins to Viet Ha Investment One Member Co Ltd and was converted into a joint-stock company on July 1, 2017 under Vietnam’s state-owned enterprise equitization program initiated by the government and Hanoi authorities.

Founded in 1966, the company evolved from a small factory producing essential consumer goods for Hanoi residents into a diversified food and beverage group with 11 member companies, joint ventures and affiliated companies.

As of the end of 2025, Viet Ha’s ecosystem included familiar brands such as Viet Ha Beer JSC, Hanoi Pharmaceutical JSC, Ngoc Ha Shoes JSC, Hanoi Confectionery JSC, and Trang An Confectionery JSC.

While many of these brands have passed their peak years, they still control and manage valuable inner-city real estate assets in Hanoi.

Large cash holdings and valuable real estate

According to its audited 2025 financial statements, Viet Ha posted consolidated after-tax profit of around VND21 billion ($796,690), equivalent to earnings per share of just VND273 ($0.01).

Although business performance was not particularly strong, the company’s financial structure remained relatively healthy. At the end of 2025, Viet Ha’s total financial debt stood at only around VND16 billion ($607,000), a modest figure compared with total assets of more than VND1.15 trillion ($43.63 million).

In contrast, the company held significant cash reserves and short-term financial investments. Viet Ha reported around VND45.7 billion ($1.73 million) in cash and cash equivalents, along with more than VND508 billion ($19.27 million) in short-term financial investments, mainly bank deposits.

As a result, financial income exceeded VND61 billion ($2.3 million) during the year, largely generated from deposit interest.

Beyond its large cash position, Viet Ha has also drawn attention for its land holdings and property projects in Hanoi.

The company is currently developing a mixed-use commercial and service complex in Thien Loc commune, Hanoi (formerly Kim No commune in Dong Anh district), covering around 2 hectares. Site clearance has largely been completed, with land handover reaching approximately 93-95%.

Viet Ha is also studying plans for the Viet Ha Ecological Urban Area project in Yen Xuan commune, Hanoi (formerly part of Thach That district), with an area of nearly 98 hectares under the Hoa Lac urban zoning plan.

In addition, the company manages several centrally located properties in Hanoi, including sites at 254 Minh Khai street, 11-13 Nguyen Chi Thanh street, and 96 Hang Trong street, as well as commercial assets and operating contracts in the Old Quarter at locations such as 36 Bat Dan street and Trang An Complex.

The fact that a company delisted for several years still attracted demand far exceeding the number of shares on offer suggests investors may be focusing more on Viet Ha’s asset value, land bank and restructuring potential rather than its current operating performance.

The key question now is how much of the company’s underlying asset value is reflected in the auction price - and whether new shareholders will have the capability to unlock that potential through restructuring.

Still many “grey areas”

Regarding Viet Ha’s 2025 financial statements, auditing firm VACO Auditing Co Ltd said it had been unable to obtain sufficient evidence to verify several receivables, inventories, tax obligations and financial statements of some subsidiaries and affiliates.

At Viet Ha Investment and Construction JSC, multiple receivable and payable balances worth tens of billions of dong (VND10 billion = $379,380) had not been reconciled, while the company also faced a land-rental tax reassessment exceeding VND215 billion ($8.16 million).

Meanwhile, International Liquor JSC was flagged for unconfirmed receivables and payables, along with inventories worth more than VND5 billion whose net realizable value had not been assessed.

Other entities, including Viet Ha Beer and Beverage JSC and Viet Ha Infrastructure Investment JSC, had either not been audited or their financial statements had not been fully obtained.

Still, VACO stated that except for the issues mentioned above, Viet Ha’s consolidated 2025 financial statements fairly reflected the company’s financial position in all material respects.