HCMC – The Saigon Beer-Alcohol- Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) has relieved Hoang Dao Hiep from the post of deputy general director of the firm, which means Sabeco now has only one Vietnamese leader--Lam Du An, deputy general director in charge of techniques and production--in its management board.

Besides An, the firm’s management board currently has three foreign members comprising general director Neo Gim Siong Bennett and deputy general directors Teo Hong Keng and Ng Kuan Ngee Melvyn. All of them are linked to the Thai Beverage Public Company Limited (ThaiBev). ThaiBev spent US$5 billion acquiring a 53.59% stake in Sabeco through the Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd in 2017. Since then, the senior executives of ThaiBev have been nominated to the management boards of Sabeco and its subsidiaries. For example, Neo Gim Siong Bennett, in addition to holding the post of Sabeco general director, is now chairman of Saigon Beer Western JSC and a member of the board of Chuong Duong Beverages JSC. As for Sabeco’s performance in 2020, its revenue plunged 26% over 2019 to VND28.1 trillion due to the Government’s Decree 100 strictly banning drink-driving and the Covid-19 pandemic. However, its after-tax profit reached VND4.9 trillion, exceeding its target by over 50%.

By V.Dung