SABECO named in Fortune’s first Southeast Asia 500 rankings

The brewer was ranked 228th across all sectors, after recording $1.2 billion in revenues in 2023.

The Southeast Asia 500 rankings for 2024, revealed on June 18, is Fortune's first list of the largest companies in the region, ranked by revenues for the 2023 fiscal year.

The recognition by Fortune spotlights SABECO as it affirms its positioning as a beverage leader in Vietnam and beyond. It is on track to make significant inroads with product innovation and transformation for the future, with efforts to please consumers in an ever-changing economic and cultural environment.

SABECO's plans for 2024 include brand building and market development, comprehensively restructuring its distribution system, and enhancing performance and management across channels and product segments. Recognising the opportunities and challenges, SABECO set a target of almost $1.4 billion in net revenues and $190 million in profits in 2024, an increase of 13 and 8 per cent, respectively, compared to 2023.

SABECO has also been named one of the 50 best-listed companies in 2024, as announced by Forbes Vietnam, for the seventh time.

To attain that honour, companies listed on Vietnam's stock exchanges were evaluated over various steps. In the preliminary round, companies needed to be profitable in 2023 and have a minimum revenue and capitalisation of VND500 billion ($19.64 million). In the next round, companies were quantitatively scored on five criteria, which included compound growth rate of revenue, profits, and return on equity.

SABECO aims to maintain its domestic market position and reach overseas markets; promote research and development to improve product quality and launch new products; improve supply chain efficiency throughout the SABECO system; strengthen reform to increase investment efficiency; reduce operating costs and increase productivity; and develop new trade channels, online sales, and take-away and on-site consumption.

Fortune's focus on the region comes as Southeast Asia gains greater significance in the global economy due to shifting supply chains and the rapid development of the region's economies. Vietnam, one of the region's fastest-growing economies, was home to 70 companies on the list.