HCMC – F&N Dairy Investments, a company associated with Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, has registered to buy nearly 21 million VNM shares of Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk).
The transaction, valued at around VND1.3 trillion based on Vinamilk’s January 15 share price of VND61,700, is scheduled to take place between January 17 and February 14.
F&N Dairy Investments intends to buy through put-through or order-matching transactions. If successful, F&N’s stake in Vinamilk would increase from 17.69% to 18.69%. The company currently owns over 369.7 million shares in the dairy firm.
The registration follows an unsuccessful attempt by F&N Dairy Investments to acquire Vinamilk shares late last year, citing unfavorable market conditions. In 2024, the firm registered 10 similar bids to acquire shares but did not execute any of them due to market issues.
F&N Dairy Investments is a subsidiary of Fraser & Neave, a Singapore-based beverage group acquired by Charoen’s TCC Holdings in 2013. Fraser & Neave first has invested since 2005 and now owns 20.4% of the company through F&N Dairy Investments and another unit, F&N Bev Manufacturing.
In a related development, Vietnam’s stock market saw a modest rebound on Wednesday, led by gains in public investment stocks, as strong demand pushed trading volumes higher.
With 287 winners and 127 losers, the VN-Index added 7.11 points, or 0.58%, to close at 1,236.18.
Trading volume and value improved 24.6% and 21.8% over the previous session, respectively, with 466.7 million shares valued at VND10.4 trillion changing hands.
The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30-largest cap stocks, outpaced the broader market, rising 8.5 points, or 0.65%, to 1,297.64 points with 24 gainers and five decliners.
MSN rose the highest within the VN30 basket with a 3.3% increase. Other major contributors included VRE, HDB, and POW, each adding over 2%. BCM was the biggest decliner, down 1.1%.
HHV and VCG stole the limelight as they were the most actively traded stocks on the market on respective volume of 22.4 million shares and 19.9 million shares. HHV advanced 5.93%, while VCG jumped 5.12%.
Other public investment stocks also posted notable gains. KBC increased 3.3% to a session high of VND29,900, with more than 10 million shares traded. FCN surged to its ceiling price of VND15,350, with a trading volume exceeding three million shares. LCG climbed 5.5% to VND10,500, with 4.18 million shares transacted.
Real estate stocks performed well, with NVL, PDR, VRE, and SJS increasing between 2% and 3%.
Bank, securities, and steel stocks closed in positive territory, with selective gains across the sectors. HDB led banking stocks, gaining 2.4% to VND21,650 on a trading volume of nearly eight million shares. However, VCB and CTG edged lower, limiting broader sector gains.
Steel stocks saw mixed activity. HPG rose 1.4% to VND26,200, with 11.22 million shares traded, despite foreign investors selling nearly two million shares. HSG added 2.63%, while NKG rebounded 4.9%.
Securities stocks traded higher, with HCM, VND, and others gaining over 1%. VIX was the most active in the sector, with 11 million shares traded, closing up 2.3% at VND9,250.
On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index gained 1.28 points, or 0.58%, to end at 219.55 points, with 93 stocks rising and 56 others dipping. There were 43.18 million shares worth VND642.62 billion changing hands on the northern market.
