Panorama of Saigon Beer Củ Chi Factory in HCM City. Photo courtesy of SABECO

HCM CITY — Sài Gòn Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Corporation (SABECO) has been named in Fortune magazine’s first ever Fortune Southeast Asia 500 list.

The largest companies in the region are ranked by revenues in 2023 and Việt Nam is represented by 70 companies.

SABECO is ranked 228th across all sectors, as recorded by its 2023 revenue of VNĐ30.5 trillion (US$1.2 billion) and after-tax profit of VNĐ4.3 trillion.

This is the first time Fortune has released the rankings for the largest companies in the Southeast Asia region, based on their revenues last year. The list includes companies from seven countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Việt Nam, the Philippines and Cambodia.

A product packaging line at SABECO's factory. Photo courtesy of SABECO

SABECO operates nationwide and has 26 factories, one beverage company, two wine companies, one transportation company, two mechanical companies and five packaging operations. The corporation has a wide distribution network with a parent trading company and 11 national and regional trading companies, serving more than 200,000 shops nationwide and exporting to 30 countries around the world.

Along with business activities, SABECO continues to promote positive community values ​​through a commitment to sustainable development to bring benefits not just within the company but to many local areas.

A road under the Rural Road Lighting initiative. Photo courtesy of SABECO

Under the Rural Road Lighting initiative, SABECO has successfully installed solar lights along 73km of roads, enhancing safety and environmental friendliness in rural areas across 63 provinces and cities nationwide. The project directly benefits an estimated 210,000 households and indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of people in neighbouring areas. In 2024, SABECO will collaborate with the Central Youth Union on the Border Lighting project, alongside tree planting activities in border provinces and islands.

As the country's largest brewer, SABECO has also supported the construction of 30 community sports fields nationwide to promote a healthy, active lifestyle within the community. Upon completion of these sports fields, SABECO and the Central Youth Union will organise a nationwide football tournament paired with cultural exchange activities for rural youth.

During the 2024 Tết (Lunar New Year) and Year of the Dragon programme, SABECO reached 25 provinces and cities, distributing over 10,400 Tết gifts to workers affected by job cuts, the COVID-19 pandemic, fishermen facing challenges from climate change and border guards.

SABECO is a key partner of the Central Youth Union in the Lương Đình Của award programmes, honouring over a hundred outstanding talented youngsters and offering training programmes to enhance competitiveness for more than 500 young people and supporting start-ups across the agricultural and digital agriculture sectors.

The prestigious business magazine Fortune compiled the Fortune Southeast Asia 500 list to recognise companies with strong business and financial performance, demonstrating robust competitiveness in the region.

The Fortune Southeast Asia 500 is more than just a revenue ranking, it also acknowledges businesses for their financial stability and positive contributions to the economy. Inclusion on this list signifies the excellence and success of companies in Southeast Asia, assessed across criteria such as revenues, revenue growth rate, profit (in million USD), profit growth rate, asset value and the number of employees.

Previously, SABECO was honored for a seventh time in Forbes Vietnam's 'List of 50 Best Listed Companies' in 2024. Evaluation of companies listed on HSX and HNX involves multiple steps, starting with profitability in 2023 and a minimum revenue and capitalisation of VNĐ500 billion. In subsequent rounds, companies are evaluated on five criteria: compound annual growth rate of revenue, profit, return on equity (ROE), the return on capital (ROC) ratio and earnings per share (EPS) from 2019 to 2023. — VNS